We Own The Night
by TeeBeMe
Summary: The last thing Isabella wanted to do was to pick her entire life up and spend the last year of high school in Japan. And even worse, she wanted nothing to do with that whacky Host Club. But of course, nothing goes in her favor and she finds herself involved with the strange club and growing close to the Wild and Silent host. MoriXOC
1. I stay up, cashing in my bad luck

**TeeBeMe: WAAAH, my first Ouran story. I'm so excited, are you guys excited? I hope so! The first chapter is short but I hope you guys like it. **

_Isabella: TeeBeMe does not own anything except for the OCs of this story. Enjoy. _

* * *

"Izzy dear, it's not that bad. I promise you'll warm up to it."

I frowned rebelliously to my Aunt, folding my arms across my chest in a huff. Aunt Kya sighed heavily and patted my leg. "Fumiko is looking forward to your stay with us, she's quite excited about it," Kya continued with a smile.

My name is Isabella Giovanni…or as the Japanese would say, _Giovanni Izabera_. I'm seventeen years old and I lived in Venice, Italy my entire life with my family. My father, Alphonse, my three older brothers Lorenzo, Eddy and Ralph and my Mother, Aya.

My Mother is Japanese and was born in Tokyo but during her college years she met my Father who had been visiting from Italy on vacation. They fell in love, got married and moved to Italy. The rest is history, pretty much.

So what am I doing in a car heading to my Aunt Kya's home in Tokyo when I clearly belonged in Italy? To put it simply, my Mother had been feeling guilty for the past couple of months. My grandparents on her side had passed away recently and Mother believed that I should know more of my Japanese background.

Mom suddenly got the bright idea that I needed to spend my last year in high school in Japan. She would send me to live with her sister Kya and her daughter, Fumiko. I adored my cousin and my Aunt but I didn't want to spend a year in Japan. It just wasn't my home, I didn't grow up in Tokyo and I didn't know anyone other than my Aunt and cousin.

"You're really smart and talented, Izzy," Kya began to say, glancing out of the window. "Ouran offered to take you but so did Lobelia," Kya told me, smiling brightly. "It depends on where you would like to attend. Lobelia is an all girls academy though," She explained just as the limo came to a stop in front of her Japanese home.

"I'll have to think about it," I replied as we climbed out of the limo. I cringed, noticing my Italian accent blended in awkwardly with my Japanese. Mom had made sure I could speak Japanese but I didn't speak it too often back at home seeing as how she was the only one who was fully Japanese.

"Is Fu home?" I followed her into the house, using my cousin's childhood nickname. Fumiko hated it when I called her that. Too bad her nickname just wasn't as cool or pretty as mine. People either called me Izzy or Bella, rarely did people call me Isabella. Just my parents.

"She should be returning home soon. In the meantime, why don't you call your parents and brothers and tell them that you made it here safely?" Kya smiled at again, causing me to feel guilty about all my annoyed thoughts earlier. I couldn't be mad at my Aunt; she was just helping my Mother out.

"That sounds like a good idea," I politely agreed, sitting on the couch and pulling out my phone. My parents and brothers should all be home unless I got the time wrong and they were really sleeping or something. I'm still not used to the time differences.

"_Pronto?"_

I smiled softly to myself, relaxing after hearing the familiar voice of my Father. "_Papà? Sono io, Bella." _I greeted, smiling even wider. It had only been a day since I saw my parents and brothers and I was already missing them. My stomach churned and my homesickness quickly kicked into gear.

"_Mi Bella! How was your flight?"_

"It was fine, Papà. Is Mama doing alright? And the boys?" I asked, biting my lower lip. My three older brothers didn't like the idea of me going off to Tokyo by myself, even if I was living with our Aunt. My Father had always told them to protect me and keep an eye on me because I was the only girl.

"_Si, si. Mama sta bene. The boys miss you a lot, Bella. They're not here right now but I'll tell them you called and hopefully they'll get back to you before you go to bed. How is your Aunt Kya? And Fu?" _

I frowned in disappointment, I was hoping to talk to the rest of my family but I'll just have to wait until they return home and find the time to call me. I really do hope they can call me before I go to sleep, hearing their voices would make me so happy right now.

"_Tia_ is doing great. She's happy I'm here. Fu isn't home from school yet but she should be getting here soon," I replied, looking towards the clock. The front door opened and I heard my cousin announce her arrival.

"Papà? Fumiko just came back; I'll call you back before I go to sleep, okay? Love you," I said into the phone, almost regretting having to end the call early. He quickly told me he loved me and missed me and that he would talk to me soon before hanging up.

"Cousin Izzy!" Fumiko rushed in the living room towards me, throwing herself on top of me in a crushing hug. "It's been so long! I'm so excited that you've come to stay with us!" She squealed loudly on top of me. "Fumiko, I can't breath!" I laughed loudly underneath her. "You aren't trying to call me overweight, are you?" Fumiko pouted with a red face. I laughed again as she scrambled off of me, letting me sit up.

I looked over my cousin, trying to find if she had changed at all. Her hair was jet black and cut just above her shoulders and her bangs were held in place with a pretty pink headband. Her eyes were wide and the color of blackberries. I looked completely different with my chocolate brown hair swaying down to my mid-back and my hazel brown eyes. I was also taller than my cousin by a good couple of inches.

"What in the world are you wearing?" I suddenly asked, noticing the ugly butterfly yellow dress she was wearing. Fumiko's smile dropped and was replaced with a confused frown.

"It's my Ouran uniform," She told me, standing up and modeling the monstrosity for me. "You have to wear that?" I gaped at her, disgusted with the piece of garment. "Of course! You don't think it's cute?" Fumiko pouted and twirled around in the ugly thing.

"_Mio Dio_! It's terrible!" I shouted, pinching her dress between my fingers and eyeing it with disdain. "Oh stop that! Just because it's not all the rage in Italy doesn't mean we don't think it's fine here," Fumiko huffed, folding her arms across her chest.

"Perhaps I should look into attending Lobelia…" I mumbled to myself as she tugged her dress from me. "Oh no! Don't tell me you actually want to attend Lobelia. Izzy, you should really come to Ouran with me! It's such a wonderful academy and it even has the Host Club!" She began to sputter, pouting.

"Host Club? What in the world is that?" I frowned, tilting my head to the side. Fumiko huffed again and shook her head at my ignorance. "It's only the best club at Ouran! It's a club of pretty boys who host and entertain ladies every day after school," She explained to me with a dreamy-like smile plastered across her face.

"That sounds pretty stupid," I rolled my eyes. Sounded like those boys had way too much time and money on their hands, to be quite honest. "You'll love it, I promise! But you have to attend Ouran with me! Please! Oh please!" Fumiko threw herself in my lap, begging loudly.

Kya stepped into the room, frowning in confusion. "What's going on in here?" She asked calmly. "Mama! Tell Izzy she'll love going to Ouran. It's a wonderful school, right?" Fumiko waved her arms around like a crazy person and not like a dignified lady.

"Well….I'm sure Lobelia is nice but I'll have to side with Fumiko. Ouran is a wonderful school. And I'm sure Aya and everyone else would feel much better if you went to school with a family member," Kya informed me, folding her hands in her lap.

"But Oba-Sama…the uniform is terrible," I whined, picking at that God-awful dress. Fumiko puffed her cheeks out and playfully swatted my hands away. "It's only for a year, dear." Kya reminded me with a smile.

"Well…yes…I suppose."

"Hurray! Izzy-Busy Bee is going to Ouran!"

"_Mio_ _Dio_, please don't call me that!"

"Izzy Busy Bee!"

* * *

Two days later, I was following Kya into Ouran Academy. The school was pink. Not that I had any problem with pink. But it was…pink. You know, I'm not too surprised it's pink seeing as how they have ugly yellow school dresses…

"Don't let the color fool you, my dear. Ouran is a very prestigious school," Kya told me, reading the signs of disdain written on my face. "If you say so…" I sighed heavily as she led me into the large building. All around us, students buzzed about. Some people didn't even glance our way while other people stared us down, whispering behind perfectly manicured hands. I was an eyesore among these Japanese students.

My hair was soft but not silky enough; my eyes had a different shape. I was too tan for Japanese standards but too pale for Italian standards. I was also a lot more taller than most girls and I was not dressed in that God-awful dress.

I was an eyesore.

Deciding to stay quiet, I made sure to stay close to my Aunt. Students had to be wondering why I was following this woman. We looked nothing alike. She was an older version of Fumiko and was dressed in a traditional kimono. I bet they're already stirring up all types of gossip.

Was it too late to register at Lobelia?

She led me to the office and spoke with someone before leading me towards the Chairman's office. I didn't really know why I had to meet him but Kya said I had to. "Good afternoon, Chairman Suoh," Kya greeted the man sitting at the large desk. He might have been in his 40's, close to his 50's with faded golden hair and matching eyes.

"Iba-San," He greeted kindly, standing up as she bowed to him. "I've come with my niece; she's the late student from Italy. Introduce yourself, dear," Kya nudged me forward towards the man.

"Good afternoon, Chairman Suoh," I tried not to let my accent leak into my Japanese. "I am _Giovanni Izabera _and I'm very pleased to have been accepted to Ouran on such short notice," I smiled at him and bowed, hiding my twitching smile. I just couldn't stand the uniform…

"It was a pleasure to accept you, Giovanni-San!" Chairman Suoh beamed at me. "I've been informed that you're a genius Artist, a prodigy!" He gushed as I straightened back up. I wasn't stupid; I knew that was one of the biggest reasons for them accepting me so late in the first semester.

My high school back home gushed that I could be the next Leonardo de Vinci or Michelangelo. I never thought it was that special, but clearly I was wrong seeing as how my talents reached all the way to Japan.

"I've always loved architecture, art and music. My upbringing in Italy has greatly influenced my love and interest in all of it," I told him, which was the truth. I was even considering making my love for the arts a career. I love my Father's winery franchise but I could really see myself in music, art and architecture.

"I'm sure you'll bring your fantastic Italian background to Ouran. Now, here is your class schedule. You may pick your books up from my secretary on your way out and your uniform has been sent to your home. It should be waiting for you now," Chairman Suoh politely handed me my class schedule.

"Thank you," Kya and I both chimed together, bowing. "I hope you enjoy Ouran," Chairman Suoh waved us out as we left his office with smiles. I picked up my books needed for all my classes and quickly followed my Aunt back to our town car.

"That went well," Kya beamed as we slipped back into the car and started back towards her home. Well, I suppose I could call it my home now. I would be living there for a year now. "Mm," I nodded, glancing over my class list and all my textbooks. I hope Mom would be proud of me for going through with this.

God give me strength.

* * *

"Izzy, stop messing with your dress! You look lovely!" Fumiko gushed sweetly Monday morning. I groaned and pressed my schoolbag to my face. "This dress is so ugly," I whined, picking at the poofy sleeves. "Yellow isn't even my color. It's certainly not the right shade of autumn yellow for this season either…" I huffed in annoyance.

"I underestimated your interest in fashion. I think you'll get along well with the Hitachiin twins," Fumiko chuckled and shook her head. "Well you know…Italy is heavily influenced by fashion. Milan, Florence and Rome are fashion capitals. And Hitachiin? I've heard of that name. It's a big name in fashion," I tapped my cheek in thought.

"It is a big name in fashion. Hitachiin Yuzuha is a celebrated fashion designer from Japan. Her twin sons, Kaoru and Hikaru attend Ouran," Fumiko informed me in a know it all way. I chuckled at her attitude. "Maybe I will get along with them, who knows."

The rest of the ride to Ouran was filled with Fumiko telling me all about Ouran. Specifically the Host Club. I still thought this 'Host Club' was just a bunch of pretty rich boys with too much time on their hands but Fumiko adored them.

Japan was so strange.

* * *

Fumiko walked me to my first class so I didn't get lost on the way. "You have a good day, okay? I won't see you until lunch time because I'm only a second-year but you'll be okay. I'm sure they'll love you," Fumiko beamed at me.

"Right…" I sighed heavily. "Thank you Fumiko. I'll see you at lunch." I waved at her, gave her a bright smile and swept into my first period class. History. I actually liked history but I'm probably behind since I studied Italian history and not Japanese history.

"Hello! You must be Izabera!" the teacher greeted as I neared her. She seemed a little frazzled but nice. "That's me," I nodded, handing her my class slip to show her I was in the right class at the right time.

"You may call me Kisaragi-Sensei," She told me, giving me a smile. "Class is just starting so why don't you write your name on the board? You can introduce yourself to the class," She suggested, motioning towards the board.

I didn't really want to stand up in front of the class and talk but I don't think I could get out of it so I went to the board and wrote my name in Japanese. Since I was staying in Japan, I was going to have to get used to being called 'Izabera'.

The class slowly filled up before the late bell could ring and I found myself staring at a class of confused students. "Ohayō," I greeted with a sweet smile. "I'm Giovanni Izabera and I've come from Italy to stay with my Aunt and cousin for the year," I began to say. "I hope you will all treat me kindly and take care of me," I kept it short, not wanting to go into details about myself.

Kisaragi seemed pleased with my introduction and instructed me to sit in the only empty seat in the back of the class. I didn't mind, it was next to the window. I loved looking out the window.

Not even five minutes after settling in my seat, the person in front of me turned around. He had short golden-blond hair and big light brown eyes. I frowned, noticing just how small he was and that he was carrying a stuffed rabbit. Just how old was this boy? Perhaps he skipped a couple of grades? But he looked like he could have been four years old.

"Hi! I'm Hani and this is Usa-chan!" He gave me this adorable smile and I almost wanted to jump on him to give him a hug. "…Um, nice to meet you….Hani and…Usa-chan," I laughed to myself. Seriously…carrying around a stuffed animal?

"And this is Takashi! But everyone calls him Mori," Hani motioned to the person next to me. The one next to me seemed too big for his desk and I assumed he must have been extremely tall. He had midnight black hair and these dark onyx eyes that were just…endless.

I rolled my lips together. He was gorgeous…

"Nice to meet you…"

"…Ah."

_Ah. _What the hell was 'Ah'? Excuse my language. I usually don't curse too much but that threw me off. Not knowing what else to say to the gorgeous man, I smiled sweetly and turned forward.

Japanese people were even stranger.

* * *

By the time lunch time came, I discovered I had several classes with Hani and his tall friend, Mori. Hani seemed to like me a lot and I found myself talking to him a lot and getting those confusing _'Ah'_ answers from Mori. And I still couldn't believe Hani was actually eighteen!

I hurried into the lavish lunch room _(seriously, this was too nice to be a lunch room)_ to search for Fumiko. After a short search, I was disappointed that I couldn't find her. Now who was I going to sit with? And where in the world was Fumiko?

"Berry-Chan!"

Frowning, I was nearly knocked over by Hani's flying hug. The little thing attached himself at my waist with a wide smile. "Berry-Chan, come sit with Usa-Chan, Mori and I!" He insisted loudly. "We can all eat cake together!" Honey chimed, dangling his legs in the air.

"Cake for lunch?" I asked, completely thrown off. Who eats cake for lunch? It was barely noon and he wanted to eat sweets? What a strange little eighteen-year old. But I wasn't too surprised; everything about Japan is strange…

"Mitsukuni," Mori suddenly appeared, casting his dark shadow above us. I was right when I assumed he was extremely tall. He even towered over me and I had to be at least average height for a Japanese male.

He grabbed Hani and pulled him off of me and then set him down. "Of course cake for lunch!" Hani exclaimed, flapping his hands around like a crazy person. "Don't you think Berry-Chan should join us, Takashi?"

I glanced at the silent student and waited for his reply. Truthfully, I wanted to know if my presence would bother him or not. Fumiko was nowhere to be found and Hani and Mori were the only ones not staring at me with guarded eyes.

"Ah," He nodded and I supposed that was a 'yes'. Hani cheered loudly and led the both of us to an unoccupied table. I frowned in confusion when Honey produced a giant cake seemingly from nowhere.

"Would you like some, Berry-Chan?" He smiled sweetly, eyeing the cake hungrily. I had a feeling he didn't really want to give me a piece but only offered because it was polite to do so. I returned his smile and shook my head. "I'm fine, Hani-Chan."

Although Mori didn't seem surprised, I openly gawked as Hani pretty much devoured the cake. I didn't even know it was possibly to eat cake in a mere two or three bites. He ate the entire thing. "Oh my…" I mumbled, looking at my Japanese lunch.

"Berry-Chan, why did you suddenly move to Japan?" He asked innocently, smiling when Mori slid his slice of cake to him. The boy was a bottomless pit, I was sure. "Oh, well…my Mom thought it would be good for me to finish my last year in Japan. She wanted me to be familiar with my Japanese roots." I explained, poking at my food.

"Do you like Japan so far?" Hani devoured the slice Mori had given him. "Well, it's a lot different from Italy but I'm sure I'll adjust to it." I answered after swallowing a bit of rice. "Do you miss Italy?"

Hani sure had a lot of questions.

"Of course. But this is my home also. I miss my family but I have my Aunt and my cousin here to take care of me," I smiled, thinking of my Aunt and Fumiko. Even though I really didn't want to move to Japan, I had to thank them for taking me in so easily.

Hani nodded, seemingly satisfied with my answers. Lunch lingered by and I heard the bell for next period to begin. I gathered my things and smiled at the two third-years. "I guess I will see you two around," I waved to them.

"Before you go, you should visit the Host Club in Music room 3 after school, Berry-Chan!" Hani gushed, hugging Usa-Chan to his chest cutely. I smiled down at him. "If I'm not busy, perhaps I will. Bye now," I waved again and left them.

* * *

"Fumiko, I'm not going." I sighed as she and I walked down the halls. The last class had just ended and I was on my way out when Fumiko began to beg me to join her at the Host Club. I didn't have the time or the interest for such a thing.

"But Izzy!" She whined, pulling on my arm. "You can whine all you want but I still refuse," I told her primly. I remembered Hani had mentioned something about the Host Club early but I had no intention on going.

"Izzy, you have to go at least once," Fumiko insisted with a whine. "I'm sure you'll love it if you just give it a chance," She pulled at my sleeve. "I have a ton of homework and notes to catch up on, Fumiko. I don't have the time." I waved her begging off with a sigh.

"Alright, fine. But you'll come eventually, won't you?" She turned her big innocent eyes on me and I sighed again. "Yes, yes. I will come eventually, just not today. Alright, Fumiko?" I hastily agreed, spotting the town car.

Fumiko cheered and clapped her hands, sputtering something I couldn't understand out. I simply nodded and watch as she returned to her group of giggling and excited friends. Strange girls, getting so excited over a group of bored boys?

Why is Japan so strange?

* * *

Groaning, I glared down at my History homework. I usually loved history but for some reason none of the information was sticking with me. I knew practically nothing of Japanese history.

Throwing my pencil down, I gave up and swept out of my bedroom. I think Kya had been held up with a business meeting and I believe Fumiko should be home by now. Skipping into the kitchen, I smiled at Fumiko.

"When did you get home?"

Fumiko glanced up from her apple and smiled at me. "A couple of minutes ago. Are you almost finished your homework?" She asked as I sat down next to her. "It's fine, I guess." I tapped my fingers against the countertop and suddenly noticed she was staring at me with a wide smile.

"What?"

Fumiko played with the hem of her dress with that same look on her face. "Well, at the Host Club today…" She began to say only to pause when I groaned loudly. "Not this again, Fu." I sagged my shoulders. "The Hosts insisted that I bring you there sometime," She chirped out, nearly bouncing in her seat. "_Mio Dio_, you told them about me?" I held up my face with my palm, glaring at her.

"Well, it was actually Ai-Chan who mentioned me having a new cousin attending Ouran so the Hosts asked me about you. I told them you were a genius in arts and music. So Tamaki-Kun wanted you to come and play the piano because he's also a piano player…" Fumiko began explaining to me.

"Fumikooo," I groaned loudly, placing my head on the counter. "I'm sorry! I couldn't help it. They were so curious and I didn't want to upset any of them," Fumiko patted my back. "You're obsessed with boys."

"Does this mean you'll go with me tomorrow after classes have ended?" Fumiko asked hopefully, pulling me up by my shoulders. I groaned loudly and rubbed my forehead. I really didn't have any interests in something so frivolous as the Host Club but it seems like going is the only way to get Fumiko off my back.

"Alright, alright. I'll go."

"Yes! Izzy-Busy Bee is going!"

"How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me that?!"

I was going to the Host Club tomorrow. How strange.

* * *

**TeeBeMe: I finally got Ouran's first chapter out! I've been scraping this chapter and re-doing this chapter since May or June! I'm glad I finally got this chapter out, yay! So, now you guys have gotten to meet Isabella. I want Izzy to fit in the world of Ouran, I've read a lot of stories for Ouran with OC characters and they always seem so...out of place. Like I noticed a lot of the female OC will refuse to wear the uniform or wear the boys uniform. Wouldn't they get in trouble for that? Or some characters will be scholarship characters. I thought Haruhi was the only scholarship student at Ouran, that's why she's so special, right? **

_Isabella: Please review...TeeBeMe is working hard on this story. _

**TeeBeMe: Yes! Tell me what you think of Izzy and Fumiko, they will be the main OCs but Izzy is more of the main character, okay? Okay! Review!**


	2. I don't care! I love it!

**TeeBe: Well! To my happiness, this is getting off to a well-start, I'm glad you guys are liking this so far!  
**

_Izzy: TeeBeMe does not own the rights to Ouran, only the OCs. Please enjoy my story._**  
**

* * *

Fumiko smiled broadly as she and I walked into Ouran. Unlike her, I was not excited for today. She had somehow managed to convince to visit this silly little club she has a fascination with. "Trust me, Izzy, you'll love it!" Fumiko promised, clasping her hands together. "That's the tenth time you've told me that this morning, Fu," I reminded her while looking through my bag to make sure I had all I needed.

"I know! I'm just so excited. I know you'll designate a host. Personally, I adore Haruhi-Kun but I wish I had the confidence to designate Kyoya-San," Fumiko prattled on next to me. I assumed Haruhi and Kyoya were both hosts but I paused in thought. Haruhi sounded like such a feminine name.

"If you want to talk to this Kyoya-San, why don't you?" I asked blankly, picking at the God-awful dress. I watched in amusement as Fumiko's entire face flushed brightly. She slapped her hands to her cheeks and shook her head quickly.

"Oh, I couldn't possibly do that…" She began to mumble. I paused with a hand on my hip. "Why not? What's so special about him?" I asked, glancing at her. "He's _Kyoya-San_, Izzy. _Kyoya-San_." She had put an emphasis on his name but I was still confused.

"Do you have a secret crush on him or something? Your admiration goes further than that, doesn't it?" I grinned widely, pointing in her face. Fumiko let out a little squeal and slapped my hand away.

"Don't say that out loud!"

"Why not?"

"Because his other admirers could hear!"

Titling my head to the side, I frowned. Why did it matter if they heard us? They all admired the same guy, right? Weren't they all like….sisters or something, obsessing over the same boy?

"Because not all of the girls here are nice," Fumiko's cheery mood had deflated in a span on five minutes. Frowning, I felt a little bad for destroying her mood with all my questions. "Don't worry," I smiled sweetly, patting her on her head. "Izzy, you're messing up my hair," She huffed, playfully swatting at my hand. So some of the girls are mean? That's not surprising. Every school has the mean girls.

* * *

"Good morning, Berry-Chan!" Hani exclaimed once I swept into the room. "Good morning, Hani," I smiled down at him and then glanced carefully at Mori. "Good morning, Mori…" I greeted him as well, wondering if he would reply back or simply ignore me. He turned to me and nodded his head. "Morning."

Well, it certainly was a start.

"Berry-Chan?" Hani tugged at my dress, causing me to look down at him. "Would you like to join Takashi and me after school?" He smiled cutely and it almost broke my heart to tell him no. "Oh…I'm sorry Hani. I promised my younger cousin I would go to one of her clubs with her today." I apologized, caressing the crown of his head. He pouted with rosy cheeks but then suddenly smiled. "Okay! Maybe next time!" He beamed up at me, kind of scaring me with his mood changes.

"Alright class. Take your seats! Time to begin!"

* * *

"Excuse me, Giovanni-San?"

Glancing over my shoulder, I spotted another girl waving me over. She was small with long honey-brown hair and matching eyes that I didn't entirely trust. Not sure of what else to do, I moved towards her carefully. I didn't really trust anyone here since Fu told me not all the girls were too friendly.

"Yes?"

"You're the new foreign student from Italy, isn't that right, Giovanni-San?" She smiled at me but it didn't seem friendly at all to me. "That's right. May I help you?" I asked as politely as I could. I recognized this girl. She was Inou-San from my English class. From what I remembered from earlier, she wasn't exactly friendly.

"I was just wondering," She began to say and I already noticed a certain glint in her eye. "Is it true that your Father is apart of the Italian Mafia?" She asked me with an almost snide tinge to her voice. I knew she was asking this to embarrass me, seeing as how Italy was known infamously for its notorious mafia rings.

"Excuse me?" I blurted out, the tips of my ears burning red. "Your family is in the pocket of the Mafia, right?" She repeated, loudly this time so everyone could hear. It became suddenly so quiet; you could hear a pin drop. Everyone was waiting for my answer.

"Well," I began, a stiff smile on my face. "If you knew anything about Italy, you would know that the Mafia primarily operates in the southern regions, such as Sicily. My family is from Venice. If you knew your geography, you would also know that Venice is in Northeastern part of Italy."

Inou seemed a little surprised that I had coolly rebuffed her silly little question. I placed a hand on my hip and titled my head to the side. "Any other questions about my family's background?"

Inou flushed terribly but I didn't have the time to care. She had the intention of embarrassing me and even had the audacity to disrespect my family's honor. My Father was a ruthless business man but he wasn't apart of the Mafia.

She scowled and glared at me but she was still blushing in embarrassment. "I suppose not then. You have a lovely day, Inou-San," I gave her one last smile and then moved swiftly away from her. There were a couple of snickers in the lunch room but everyone went back to what they were doing.

"The nerve of some people," I grumbled as I sat down at the table Hani and Mori were hosting. "Inou-Chan sure is mean sometimes," Hani commented as played with my rice. What was with Asian people and eating so much rice? I was starting to miss the Italian cuisine I was used to.

"You know her?" I asked, glancing behind me to see Inou giving me an evil look. "She likes to visit the Host Club," Hani explained, swallowing a slice of strawberry shortcake. "Should you really eat all that cake? Won't it rot your teeth?" I asked Hani but looked at Mori. From the short two days I've known the duo, I figured that Mori was pretty much Hani's caretaker/protector.

"He brushes twice a day."

I frowned at his answer. Still, consuming all that junk food couldn't have been healthy. Maybe eating all those sweets is stunting his growth. It could be a possibility. How else could you explain an eighteen year old being probably four foot nine inches, maybe even shorter than that!

This time when Hani offered me a slice of his cake, I politely accepted a small piece. I usually don't indulge too much in sweets but I was surprised that I actually liked the cake. "This is really good!" I almost exclaimed with a surprised look. Hani smiled brightly and I noticed a glimmer of amusement in Mori's eyes. "I told you Berry-Chan would like this one for sure, Takashi!" Hani giggled, causing me to smile sweetly.

I adored him already.

* * *

"_Mio Dio…"_ I mumbled, allowing Fumiko to drag me down one long hallway. Fumiko was bursting at the seams with excitement. She was saying something to me but I could barely understand it. How did she speak so quickly and breath so little in between? My cousin was amazing...

"Fumiko, please calm down…"

But she kept going, squealing with happiness. "Aika-Chan! Risa-Chan!" She exclaimed, spotting two other girls ahead of us. The first one _(Aika)_ had long maple-brown hair twisted into a long braid with matching eyes while the other one _(Risa)_ had shorter black hair and big blue eyes behind square-framed glasses.

"Fumiko-Chan!" Aika squealed, clapping her hands together. "We thought you weren't going to make it," Risa stated much more calmly and quietly. "And who's this? Oh! Is this your cousin from Italy?" She continued on sweetly as soon as she spotted me.

"Hey," I greeted, tugging my arm from Fumiko. She sure is strong for a little thing. "I'm Izabera but calling me Izzy is just fine," I introduced myself to both girls. The duo quickly introduced themselves. As soon as we were finished, they began gossiping giddily about this Host Club.

"Girls! Girls!" Fumiko said above the giggling. "Today is a special day, indeed! Today is the day we introduce my dear cousin Izzy to the wonderful Host Club!" She chimed in a sugary sweet voice. "Good grief," I shook my head and folded my arms across my chest. "As you girls can see, Izzy is currently a nonbeliever. So, it's our job to convert her today!" Fumiko ordered, standing in a self-righteous position. Aika and Risa nodded firmly, looking extremely determined.

Regarding them blankly, I shook my head again. "You girls are boy crazy," I sighed heavily. "Once you meet them you will understand why we adore the Host Club so much," Aika clapped her hands together, bouncing in place.

"Alright, alright. Could we speed this along, maybe?" I was growing impatient just standing around and hearing about this Club. I wanted to attend this cheesy club, meet these silly boys and just go home already.

"Okay!" Fumiko's arms curled around my mine and began pulling me to the white double French doors. With excited and cute smiles, Aika and Risa pulled the doors open for us. I swear to Mother Mary that a blinding white light suddenly flashed, nearly blinding me. A shower of Sakura petals rained over us and I heard of a chorus of _'Welcome!'_ from the Host Club.

"What is this…is this…Sakura petals? They threw Sakura petals at us? Really...?" I mumbled more to myself, picking a petal out of my hair. Fumiko shushed at me, waving a hand in my face to shut me up.

"Berry-Chan!"

Instantly, I ignored the entire room as soon as I heard a certain nickname burst from the only seven males in the room. "Hani? Mori? What in the world are you two doing here?" I openly gaped at my two fellow third-years standing with the rest of the outlandish group of boys.

"We're Hosts!" Hani exclaimed, cutely hugging Usa-Chan closer to his chest. A round of squeals erupted from a random group of girls. "You too?" I craned my neck to look at Mori. It seemed extremely strange that Mori was a host. He was gorgeous enough, of course. But he just seemed so quiet and lone.

"Ah," He nodded, glancing at Hani. I swear to Mary, there were flowers blooming around Hani's face. "This is getting more and more odd with each passing second," I huffed, folding my arms across my chest.

Two of the boys _(twins, actually)_ broke off from their pack of fellow hosts. They had spiky flame orange hair and golden brown eyes. They slunk towards me, almost like snakes until they were flanking my sides.

I felt their hands cross over my back and grip my hips. They leaned in closely, almost as if they were going to plant two kisses all over my cheeks and lips. I squared my shoulders with a frown. Fumiko, Aika and Risa twittered behind me, along with the rest of the female inhabitants.

"What's this?"

"A new face?"

"She's tall!"

"Like a model!"

I stayed completely still and blank faced as the two chirped about my height and my status as a new student. I was tempted to shrug them off but that would probably be a social suicide move. And knowing Fumiko, she would die if I had a bad reputation.

"She must be a foreigner. She looks so strange."

"Hikaru, that isn't nice! She's exotic, not strange."

Their banter continued and I ignored it for the most part. It wasn't until the squealing of more females that I realized these two were locked into some sort of incestuous act, almost looking as if they were going to kiss each other right in my face.

"Stop touching me," I huffed blankly, peeling their hands away. "You're right, Hikaru, she is a foreigner," Another stepped from the group. His dark and perfectly combed black hair matched his dark onyx eyes. He almost seemed normal but then the light glinted off of his glasses in a certain way that just screamed demonic.

"This is Izabera from Italy. She recently moved in with her Aunt and cousin, Kya and Fumiko-Chan. Her Japanese family owns a automobile company while her Italian family owns a famous winery company," The demon splayed my information out. How the hell _(please, excuse my language)_ did he know where I was from, who I was staying with and what both sides of my families did for a living? I turned to look at Fumiko, but she literally had hearts in her eyes.

"That's right, Kyoya-San!" She beamed at him, clasping her hands together. Oh. This was the famous Kyoya she spoke about earlier. I don't know what she's all worked up for, he seems evil to me. And she was no help, to add to that.

"So, you're from Italy!" One of the twins _(I'm assuming it's Hikaru because he had a deeper tone than his brother)_ was suddenly in my face again. "Yes….but I'm half Japanese too…" I tried to back away, only to bump into the other twin.

Good grief.

"No wonder she's so tall! Hikaru, we could use her body for some of Mom's designs!" The other shouted in excitement, catching me by my forearms. "Use my body? When did I agree to that?" I hissed at him, trying to pull away.

"Enough, you devil twins!" The tall blond one literally leaped forward towards the three of us. He grabbed me and whirled me around, wrapping his long arm around my waist. "I'm sorry, dear Princess that you had the misfortunate of being manhandled by those shady twins!" He began, deep violet eyes boring into my own. The blond began ranting and raving, but I tuned most of it out.

"Tamaki-Senpai, you're making her even more uncomfortable than Kaoru and Hikaru…" The last Host mumbled. I glanced at him, frowning in confusion. He sure was….feminine for a guy. He had shining brown eyes and short cutely cropped brown hair. He seemed the most normal out of them all but there was still something off about him.

This Tamaki person suddenly frowned, his face taking on a depressed expression. "More uncomfortable than those devil twins…? Haruhi, you're so mean!" He suddenly began to sob, letting me go and sobbing in a corner. I stumbled backwards in surprise and was caught by large hands on my shoulders. I felt my stomach drop, thinking it was one of those damn twins but was pleasantly surprised to turn to see that Mori had stopped me from falling.

"Thank you, Mori…" I blew a strand of brown hair out of my face and stood up straight. He made sure that I was okay on my own and nodded, the corner of his lips tugging in what would have been a smile.

Kyoya suddenly popped up next to me. "Izabera-San, I'm assuming you are here to designate a host for the afternoon?" He asked me professionally, his dark eyes made me slightly nervous. I glanced at Aika and Risa, but they were already sitting with those strange twins. They were squealing over another incestuous act. Those girls were strange, obviously. I looked around for Fumiko and spotted her speaking with that Haruhi boy.

Seriously, Haruhi? Isn't that considered a girl's name?

Kyoya cleared his throat and I glanced back at him. "Perhaps you like the Little Devil type," He swept his hands towards those twins and my face instantly twisted into a frown. "The Lolita-Shota and the Wild type," He pointed to Mori and Hani. Most likely, seeing as how I was more familiar with them, I would designate them.

"Or the cool type," He motioned to himself and I smiled a little. More like the Ice King type but I said nothing. For some reason I think he knew what I was thinking because his glasses glinted again. "Or the Natural type," He pointed to Haruhi. "And there's the Prince Charming type," He nodded to Tamaki. The blond had bounced back from his depression and was now among a crowd of blushing and cooing girls.

"God, no." I mumbled distastefully. Tamaki was much too…much for me. He went overboard on the charm, I'd like to think. I definitely didn't want to be near those devil twins and Kyoya made me slightly nervous. So I was down to Haruhi, Mori and Hani.

"Uh…I guess Mori and Hani…" I sighed, sagging my shoulders. This is what I'm wasting my afternoon for? A strange club of boys with odd habits? What had I gotten myself into?

I swept over to Mori and Hani's table. I wasn't surprised when the table was overcrowded with cakes and sweets of all types. "Is there room for one more?" I asked politely, standing near Mori. He glanced up at me silently and nodded, pointing to the only spot left. Next to him. I smiled but I was a little nervous. As gracefully as I could, I sat down next to him. I noticed two of the girls who hadn't been gushing over Hani's cuteness narrowed their eyes at me. I supposed it was because I sat next to Mori. But it was not my fault they were too shy and dimwitted to take the seat for themselves.

Japan and their strange people.

* * *

"How did you like it?" Fumiko grinned as she led me out of the Music Room. The Host Club had just ended their activities. I sweetly thanked Hani for sharing his strawberry cake with me and politely told Mori I had a nice time and I would see two of them in class.

"It was quite strange," I frowned, following her. "You weren't completely swept away with Tamaki-Kun's dashing charm? Or Kyoya-San's cool demeanor? What about the playfulness of Kaoru and Hikaru?" She began to babble next to me.

"Tamaki is goofy in a cartoony way, the twins are strange and incestuous and Kyoya is clearly evil," I counted off my fingers, rolling my eyes. "Izzy! Kyoya is not evil," Fumiko began whine, clinging on to my arm.

"You really don't think so? Everything about him screams that he's a demon in disguise. I think he might even be Satan," I shook my head, hearing a chuckle behind us. We both turned around to see Haruhi, trying to mask his laughter.

"I'm sorry; I've just never heard any of the girls refer to those three like that," He apologized with a smile. "Really? What's the matter with you and the rest of the female population at this school?" I directed at Fumiko, hands on my hips. She only giggled insanely and mumbled something about pretty boys.

"Haruhi-San, how do you deal with all of these idiots?" I regarded the first-year blankly. The more I stayed in Haruhi's presence, the more curious I became about him. He was extremely small and lithe for a boy and his name was very feminine.

"The girls aren't that bad. Tamaki-Senpai, on the other hand…" He began and muttered something about _'rich bastards'._ He rolled his eyes and then shrugged. "You get used to him and the rest of the club."

I snorted and shook my head. "You, Mori and Hani seem to be the only sane ones," I told him, shaking my head. "You poor soul," I sighed for her, those weirdo boys would probably infect Haruhi eventually turn her into a strange person as well.

"Matsudo-San in here," Fumiko suddenly announced, pointing to our car and driver patiently waiting for us. She turned to Haruhi with a smile. "Thank you for today, Haruhi-Kun. I'll see you tomorrow!" She beamed sweetly before turning away to get to our car.

"It was nice to meet you, Haruhi-San," I bowed to the younger boy and smiled. "You too, Izabera-Senpai," Haruhi returned the gesture. "Calling me Izzy is fine," I told him before waving and following Fumiko.

* * *

"Izzy, Aya is on the phone," Kya turned around as I stepped into the house with the phone held out. I graciously took the phone for her and pressed my ear to the phone, smiling widely.

"Mama?"

"_Bella! Finally!" _Mom exclaimed, her voice like a bell jingling in the wind. Hearing her sweet voice reminded me that she was a thousand miles away in our large ornate home in Venice while I was here in Kya's large traditional house in Japan.

"_My honey-bee,"_ Mom sighed in relief. Out of my entire family, she was the only one I didn't tell to stop calling me by my childhood nicknames, Honey-Bee and Izzy Busy Bee. Anyone else who dared called me that; I insisted that they never say it out loud.

"_How are you doing over there?"_ Mom asked me, I could hear the smile in her voice. "_Mio Dio_, Mama, you wouldn't believe how strange these people are," I groaned, resting my hand on my forehead. Not wanting to offend Kya and Fumiko, I spoke in Italian.

"_I don't know about that. I am from Japan, you know."_ Mom chuckled, probably playing with the sleeve of her blouse. "I don't know Mom, these kids are a lot more different from when you were a kid," I shook my head.

"_Are you trying to call me old, Honey-Bee?"_

"Of course not! I'm only saying my generation is a lot stranger than your generation," I giggled at my Mom's playful banter. _"Of course,"_ She snorted. _"Now, how are the children strange?"  
_  
"Well…you know Oba-San and Fu-Fu convinced me to attend Ouran. First, the uniform for the girls are terrible. It's bright yellow, Mama, yellow. And it's disgustingly poofy. It's an abomination. Anyway, Fu convinced me to come to this silly afterschool, club. It's called the Host Club."

"_Ah…I remember those…"_

"Yeah, well….these boys are strange. I'm fine with three of them, but the remaining four are freakishly strange. I think one is Satan reincarnated and the other is so goofy it's overwhelming. And the other two are twins that put on an incest relationship. And I don't think they know the meaning of personal space."

Mom laughed the entire time, thinking it was all funny. "But the other three, I like them. Two are in my year so I get along with them the most since I see them frequently. But the last one, Haruhi, he seems odd."

"_Haruhi? That sounds like a girl's name."_

"I know! That's what I thought. He seems like a girl to me but I won't just go up to him and accuse him of being a girl, that's rude, right?" I shook my head and Mom agreed with me. It might embarrass Haruhi if I just randomly accuse him of being a girl.

"Right and would you believe a girl assumed Papa was apart of the Mafia?" I gossiped to her, hearing her grumble something on the phone. _"That was rude! Did you tell her that our family is not like that?"_ She huffed, clearly annoyed.

"Of course!"

"_I bet her family is tied up in the Japanese Yakuza_…" She continued to huff and puff. I laughed at my Mom's annoyance. Mom usually didn't get worked up about anything. In our usual loud and boisterous family, Mom was the one keeping everything in control. But I suppose that if you talk about her family, she shows no mercy.

She grumbled a little more before sighing heavily. _"Well, I'll have to let you go, Honey_-_Bee. We have to attend a gala for your Father and the boys do not want to put on their_ _suits."_ Mom sighed, muttering to herself.

One of the things I loved about my family is despite the fact that my Mother is not my brother's Mother, that didn't matter. Even though they were her step-children, they treated her with love and respect and called her 'Mama' like I did.

"Okay, Mama. Tell the boys and Papa I love and miss them. I love you," I smiled sadly, hearing her return the words and then we ended our call. Turning away from the phone, I swayed into the living room to see Kya sitting on the couch, looking annoyed and fed-up.

"Is something wrong, Oba-Sama?" Kya seemed surprised as I thumped down next to her, patting at my puffy dress that I still hadn't changed out of it. As soon as I was finished with this school-year, I'll burn this abomination to a crisp.

"It's your Uncle Takuma," Kya sighed and undid her tight bun, letting out her ebony locks to spill across her back. Instantly, I knew why she was so annoyed. My Uncle Takuma was hard to deal with. He was rude, greedy, harsh and unforgiving.

Takuma was not fond of me or my Italian family. I'd go as far as saying he was even racist. Every Italian slur a person could think of, Takuma has said it. When he found out that my Mom had fallen for someone not Japanese and even married him and went to Italy to have a family with him, he insisted that she should have been disowned.

He disliked me even more. I was mongrel, a mixed breed mutt to him. He even called me a bastard child once, despite that I did have a Father present in my life. I was a disgrace to Japanese people with being half Italian. Takuma hated me, pretty much.

I'm sure he's heard from someone, either in the family's automobile company or a relative that Kya has taken me in for a year. He was usually more polite to Kya than he was to my Mother, but I'm sure he'd given her hell.

"Someone, I'm not sure who, told Takuma that Aya 'abandoned' you on my doorstep." Kya sighed heavily, rubbing her temples. "And now he's chewing me out for taking in a mixed-blood Mafia brat." Kya rolled her eyes. "Sometimes I wonder how it's even possible he's related to Aya and me."

I grimaced and huffed. The nerve of my Uncle. I didn't understand why he was so racist and hateful towards my family. Everyone else, even my late and traditional grandparents were fine with my family. They sometimes teased Papa and the boys because they couldn't speak Japanese fluently, but it was all in good fun. As you could probably guess, family reunions could get quite tense and chaotic with my Uncle around. And my Father's horrible temper, along with my three older and very intimidating brothers didn't help one bit.

I'd rather deal with the Host Club than deal with my Uncle.

….And_ that_ was saying something.

* * *

**TeeBeMe: Here's chapter two, you guys. Izzy has met the Host Club and she's not too fond of most of them, as you can see. But things will change soon. Izzy just a little practical compared to the rest of the Club. **

_Izzy: We hope you like it and reviews would be very nice!_


	3. Master the merry-go-round

TeeBeMe: Update time! Excited? Yes? No? Oh well! I'm working on a new chapter for Whispers in the Dark as we speak so look forward to an upcoming update!

_Izzy: TeeBeMe does not have the rights to Ouran. Only the OCs._

* * *

For the next couple of weeks as I settled in with living in Japan, I steadily avoided the whacky Host Club. I just didn't feel the need to bother myself with being assaulted and practically molested by the twins. I had no desire to have any of my personal information being spouted out by Kyoya. And I definitely did not have the time to practically drown in Tamaki's cheesy personality.

Of course, Aika, Fumiko and Risa whined each time they got about this. They just couldn't understand my obvious dislike for the Host Club. I just thought it was a waste of time and those four boys were strange. As the days went on, I questioned their sanity.

"Izzy, why don't you come with us today?" Risa pouted beside me. I was on my way to the library to quickly get some studying in for an upcoming test and Risa had caught me on her way to the Host Club. "Risa, that club is a waste of my time. I don't feel like being poked and prodded at because of my strange face and body type. And I certainly don't want to be manhandled around the room," I huffed, folding my arms across my chest.

"But Izzy! They ask about you all the time!" Risa insisted, hugging her book close to her chest. "So? I don't care." I shrugged indifferently. "Not even for Hani-Chan and Mori-Kun?" Risa pouted innocently.

"Hani and Mori ask about me?" I paused in the middle of the hallway, clearly surprised. I wasn't surprised that Hani asked about me….but Mori spoke about me too? That was a shock to my system. He hasn't said anything during our classes together, I had no idea.

"Well, yeah. Most of the time he just goes along with Hani-Chan but I think he really would like it if you visited," Risa babbled thoughtfully. Suddenly she stopped with wide eyes. "Now that I think about it…Mori-Kun doesn't really care for a lot of girls.."

"Oh, please. Don't be ridiculous! It's only because Hani asks for me so often. I didn't do anything. Mori just goes along with Hani, that's what he does. Or at least, that's what it seems like to me…." I trailed off. "Well, _now_ you _have_ to come to the Host club!" Risa beamed, pointing down the hallway frantically. "I can't. It's absolutely important that I study for this history exam! I'm so behind in Japanese history, it's not even funny!" I insisted primly, knowing I sounded pretty whiny.

"I know!" Risa almost squealed loudly. When I first met her, I thought Risa was just your average quiet bookworm. But when it came to talking about the Host Club, she was as crazy as Fumiko. Aika was probably worse.

The friends I've chosen….

"You can ask Mori to tutor you!"

"Excuse me? I can't just ask him to tutor me, it's so sudden!" I began babbling out reasons not to ask my fellow third-year. "But why? It's perfect. Mori is excellent in history. It's one of his favorite subjects."

"How could you possibly know that?"

"It's all in the character bios Kyoya-San sold last month."

"_Mio Dio_, you girls really are crazy!"

Risa produced the said book and hugged it to her chest, pouting. "But Izzy…it has all the information a girl could want! Birthdays…favorite subjects, least favorite foods…everything!" She exclaimed, shoving the reading material in my face.

"Dear God, what have I wandered into….?"

"You're so mean, Izzy."

I hadn't even realized that Risa had led me straight to the Host Club's door. "Dear God…" I mumbled, finally realizing where we were and that Risa was squealing loudly. I would've ran away before anyone could notice me there but I realized a second too late.

"Izabera-Hime!" Tamaki was suddenly there, throwing his arms about. Like he had done the first time we met, he wrapped a long arm around my waist and spun me around, this time dipping me down. I flushed brightly as my hair swept the floor. "T-Tamaki!" I shrieked, clearly put off by his behavior. "It's been such a long time, Hime. We feared that the devil twins had scared you off and you would never return to us!" He began to loudly say, a dreamy-like expression slapped onto his face.

"Is this really happening right now? Is this my life?" I mumbled more to myself than to him. From my view upside down, I could see Tamaki's followers cooing in a friendly but jealous sort of way. Kaoru and Hikaru seemed as if they debating on coming over here or not, Kyoya's glasses glinted and he wrote something _(evil) _down and Haruhi shook his head.

"Tamaki-Senpai, you're doing it again. You're making Izzy-Chan uncomfortable," Haruhi sighed heavily, giving the blond a blank look. His dashing smile suddenly stiffened and I watched as his smile cracked and he began pouting in a cartoon like way.

He jerked me up and released me, turning away. "Mama! Haruhi is being mean to Daddy!" He suddenly shouted, running over to Kyoya. "Why is he calling Kyoya that?" I asked myself, patting at my marshmallow dress.

"Berry-Chan! You made it!" Hani bounced over to me, Mori following suit. At the sight of the tall third-year, I started to laugh nervously. "Yeah, Risa managed to trick me into coming here. I suppose now that I'm here, it would be rude to leave without designating someone, right?" My shoulders slumped visibly.

Hani cheered loudly and promptly dragged me over to his table of sweets. The girls who were already there cooed and giggled over Hani's adorable excitement while the two girls I assumed had a crush on Mori, gave me a careful look. I wasn't sure if they were afraid to speak to me or if they didn't like me because I sat nex to Mori again.

I smoothed out the wrinkles in my dress and sighed heavily. "I don't understand why you two would join this club out of all the other clubs offered here," I huffed, shaking my head. "Because Tama-Chan said we can be ourselves here," Hani beamed at me, shoving a forkful of cake into his mouth. "And Takashi is in the kendo club too!"

"Don't talk with your mouth full." Mori chided him, patting him on his shoulder. "The kendo club? Really? That sounds a lot better than this. Do you compete in competitions?" I asked, more interested in the kendo club than this silly host club.

"He's the national champion,"

I looked over my shoulder and smiled widely at Haruhi. He had been passing by with a tray of steaming tea. "Ah! Hey, Haruhi." I greeted informally. Haruhi was what everyone called a 'commoner', so I guess that meant he wasn't from a rich family. I didn't feel the need to be so polite with him; it would probably make him uncomfortable.

"I'm glad you could join us today, Izzy-Chan," Haruhi paused for idle chit-chat, which I thought was sweet of him. "Ah, well….I was tricked into coming. Risa is far more cunning that I thought," I waved it off with a frown. "I'll just have to _fail_ my upcoming exam," I said loudly enough for Risa to hear me. I saw her flinch and then smile nervously.

Haruhi frowned thoughtfully. "What subject are you having trouble with?" He asked after a moment's pause. "History. I thought I would do well in the subject because I did so well in Italy but I overestimated myself. For some reason I'm having a hard time retaining the information," I sighed, twisting the fabric of my dress in my hands.

"Oh, well if you're having troubles with history, I'm sure Mori wouldn't mind helping you. That's one of his favorite subjects, right Mori?" Haruhi smiled at Mori and I was instantly reminded that Haruhi was quite girly. "Ah, I think Risa mentioned Mori liking history too…" I mumbled more to myself than to anyone else around me. "But I really wouldn't want to be any trouble," I began to say, craning back to view the tall third-year. Mori shifted and then shook his head. "It's no trouble."

My face was probably red because I could feel it burning. "That's very thoughtful of you,Mori," I smiled sweetly up at him as Haruhi moved over to Tamaki's table with the tea. Perhaps if I had been paying more attention, I would've noticed Kaoru and Hikaru sneak up behind me with devious expressions.

"Izzy-Senpai!" They exclaimed at the same time. I squealed when I felt their hands on my shoulders. Before I could protest, I was being yanked over the couch to stand in between the two twins. "Ah, she's not as tall as a model but that could change if she wore high heels," The one on my left told the other. "A model? Who said anything about modeling?" I growled at him. "Just how tall are you, Izzy-Senpai?" The other on my right asked me, shoving his face closer to mine.

I shot him a glare; clearly he was invading my personal space. I felt like smacking him away but I'm pretty sure that would be taboo among all these adoring _(and crazy)_ fan girls. Instead, I opted to rudely answer. "That's none of your business."

"She's 5'6!"

"Fumiko! Traitor!"

The twins circled me and I felt extremely uncomfortable. "Shouldn't you two be hosting? Why did you put your freak show production on hold?" I huffed primly, folding my arms across my chest. "But we wanted to get your measurements," the one I assumed to be Kaoru whined, taking a lock of my hair between his fingers. He mumbled something about good texture but it wasn't silky enough. "Why do you need them?"

"For future references if we ever need you to model something," Hikaru _(I'm just guessing it's him)_ told me. "I'm not modeling anything for you," I sniffed at them with an eye roll. "Nonsense," Hikaru waved it off and then bent slightly. "You look like you have an hour glass shape." He mumbled thoughtfully. Before I could say anything else, I heard something that sounded like electricity from below us.

Something like iron began groaning from underneath the floor and a boisterous laugh suddenly erupted throughout the room. I searched the room frantically but was dumbfounded when no one else seemed bothered by the random noises.

And then, the floor opened up and out came a girl standing on a platform. I stared at her with wide eyes as the platform came to a halt and she continued to laugh loudly on top of it. She reminded me of a banshee.

"Mori?"

"Ah?"

"Did that girl just come out of the floor? Does she do that a lot?"

"Yeah."

Well, how strange. But no one seemed to be really bothered by her sudden entrance. "Good afternoon, Kyoya-kun!" The girl gushed sweetly, jumping off of the platform and hurrying over to the demon in disguised. "Good afternoon, Renge-Chan," Kyoya greeted with his fake smile. I huffed and shook my head. What was the matter with these girls? If Kyoya wasn't Satan himself, he was the son of him. No one could look that dashingly evil.

He suddenly shot a look in my direction and the lights reflected from his glasses. I jumped and smiled nervously. Did he have ESP or something? There's no way he could know what I'm thinking.

….Or is there?

I shivered and quickly ducked out of the twin's grasp. "Honestly, I wish you two wouldn't invade my space. I was having a lovely time sitting with Hani and Mori and then you two had to come and ruin it," I huffed, turning away from them and going back to my earlier seat.

I suddenly heard an odd noise and suddenly that girl who came out of the floor, Renge, was in my face with a thoughtful look across her face. "So you're the new girl who doesn't love my darling host club!" She accused me instead of asking like a normal sane person.

"_Your?" _

"Of course," Renge chimed in an ear-grating voice. "I'm the Host Club's official manager, Renge!" She shouted in my face with a wide smile. I almost wanted to slap her away from me. What was with these people and invading other peoples' personal space? Was it so hard for them to understand they were overstepping boundaries?

"Izabera," I sighed through my nose and sagged my shoulders. Something told me this specific girl was going to be a nuisance. I could practically see the insanity in her eyes. Renge's smile widened and I thought it was going to snap her face in half.

"Believe me, I know all about you," Renge said coyly. I narrowed my eyes at her and folded my arms across my chest. "Eh? Is that so?" I asked slowly, frowning. Surely she couldn't be serious.

"Well, I know you're from Italy and you were born on February 3rd, a day before Haruhi-Kun's birthday but you're obviously older than him." She began to say with a smug look. "You have a cousin whose adamant in getting you to warm up to the idea of the Host club but you've remained quite stubborn," Renge smirked widely as I stared her down.

"You're only this way because you're extremely guarded from people; you don't like a lot of people getting close to you. You don't like to be alone but you tend to push everyone away. It's funny because you seem like a loyal and kind person but you throw people off with an unemotional and detached nature."

By now I was staring at this girl with slightly wide eyes. I never met her the entire time I've been attending Ouran but she was able to basically pick apart my personality with ease.

They were all crazy.

"That's silly," I replied, hands on my hips. Despite what I said, it was the truth. My mother often told me I had a detached personality growing up and if I somehow did become attached to someone, I was as loyal as a dog. Or, that's what she claimed. I always thought she just said that because she was my Mother.

"Is it?" Renge's smug look was blown up full force but I refused to falter. From the corner of my eye, I could see Fumiko watching me quietly. I believe she was watching me to make sure I kept my temper in check. The Giovanni family was infamously known to have terrible tempers.

I evened out my breathing and cocked my hip to the side, a sure sign that I was slowly losing my patients with this girl. "Of course it's silly," I waved her off. "You can't base everything off by just one meeting. That's awfully judgmental of you." I flipped a lock of my hair behind my shoulder.

The room was silent; everyone's eyes were on us. I'm sure everyone could just see the dangerous sparks radiating from both of our eyes. I wasn't backing down from this nutcase.

"Berry-Chan doesn't really like Renge-Chan, ne?" I heard Hani say to Mori, nibbling on a piece of cake. The girls sitting across from him cooed quietly but I'm sure they were trying to be quiet so Renge and I wouldn't wheel around and glare at them. Mori grunted in agreement.

Before anything else could be said from either of us, Tamaki interrupted us. He grabbed my hand and suddenly whirled me around; making me land in the seat I had been jerked out of by the twins.

"You're much too beautiful to glare like that, Izabera-Hime." Tamaki smiled down at me in a smooth way in a way that he was sure would soothe my anger. "Flattery will get you nowhere," I muttered out the side of my mouth, folding my arms across my chest again.

"Eh, are you trying to say I'm not beautiful, Tamaki?" Renge scowled harshly and I swear to Virgin Mary that her hair was animated in a snake-line manner. Tamaki and I both paled visibly, flinching away from the girl who now looked a lot like Medusa. Faintly, I heard Mori mutter to Hani that he should look away.

Tamaki frantically apologized and buried his face in my shoulder. He was gushing out tears of fear and was shouting his apologies. No one seemed the least bit bothered by Tamaki and Renge's behavior. Most of them had gone back to gushing over the rest of the hosts.

"For goodness' sake….pull yourself together," I rolled my eyes after several minutes of the tall blond sniffling into my shoulder. "You're so mean to me, Hime," Tamaki pulled away to stare at me with watery violet eyes.

I rolled my eyes again and peeled him away. "You're getting all your tears on my dress," I reprimanded him, looking at my tear-stained dress. Tamaki pouted but I only swatted him away with a huff.

So strange.

* * *

"Fumiko, I don't understand the point of this at all."

I huffed and followed behind Fumiko on a lovely Sunday afternoon. Fumiko glanced over her shoulder at me before mumbling something and turning back around. She searched the area and suddenly smiled widely. "I've found it!"

Apparently, Haruhi had told Fumiko about this 'wonderful' bookstore and Fumiko insisted that we had to find it. Anything Haruhi complimented was sure to be great, she kept saying as we were driven from our rich neighborhood to what Tamaki had called the 'commoner's' neighborhood.

I pulled thoughtlessly at the hem of my blouse as Fumiko twittered next to me. We waited patiently for the signal to safely cross the street. I sure as hell hoped this book store was worth it. It was among these cramped houses and was across the street from a small supermarket.

Just as the light was beginning to change, I saw something that caught my eyes. I swore I just saw someone familiar go into that supermarket. I bit my lip and shook the feeling off but it only came back much quicker.

I caught Fumiko's wrist before she could cross the street into the store. "You go ahead, I'll be there in a second," I told her quickly before letting her go and hurrying into the supermarket. She shouted something at me but I only waved over my shoulder at her.

In the supermarket, the people stared at me in question. I suppose I was a little bit dressed up for grocery shopping but it wasn't my fault. I didn't own any clothes that middle classed people would deem normal.

I scouted the store, easily seeing over the much shorter shoppers. It was then I saw the familiar mop of brown hair going into the freezer section. I quickly followed the person and caught up to them easily. "Excuse me..." I began to say but stopped. This person had her back turned towards me but she wore a light pink dress over jeans and sandals on her small feet. There was no way….

The girl turned around to face me with large brown doe eyes and I found myself squeaking in surprise. My own hazel brown eyes widened considerably as the smaller girl looked extremely confused.

"Izzy-Senpai?"

"Haruhi!?"

* * *

Haruhi was a girl.

I knew it. Something had been off about her every since the first day I saw her. She was lacking the usual curves a girl would have but her eyes were large, like a girl's eyes would be. Her voice was considerably low for a girls' but it wasn't deep enough to be a man's voice either.

She explained her story to me and didn't seem the least bit bothered that I now knew her secret. Apparently she didn't really care but it made everything a lot easier if a lot of people didn't know she was parading around as a boy to host girls to pay off a debt 'he' had to the Host club.

"Well….I had a feeling but I just thought you were an extremely girlish boy," I told her, handing her a can she had been too short to reach. Haruhi chuckled and placed the can in her basket. "You're much sharper than the other girls." She told me, looking at her list.

"That's it. Thank you for the help," She nodded to her basket. I never really noticed our height difference before but I was much taller than she. I wasn't as tall as the twins and Kyoya but I was taller than her.

"It was no problem. I should be going. I left Fumiko in that bookstore. Who knows what sort of chaos she's caused by now," I laughed nervously and glanced out the large windows. Fumiko may have been petite, but she was a force. Haruhi nodded in understanding.

"Eh….I'll see you at school tomorrow."

* * *

Fumiko was extremely disappointed the next day. Apparently, the Host Club was canceled for the school day. I didn't think too much of it and maybe that had been my mistake.

On my way to math, I was jerked to the side and pushed against a wall. "Are you crazy?" I found myself hissing before coming face to face with those damned twins. "Oh, dear lord…" I mumbled to myself, trying to put some space between the devils and myself.

"Berry-Chan!" Hikaru _(remember, I'm only guessing)_ exclaimed in my face, causing me to scowl. "Don't call me that," I snapped at him. "But Hani-Senpai calls you that all the time," Kaoru pointed out with a pout. "It's different. It's creepy when you two say it! Now what do you want? You'll make me late!"

"Milord just wanted us to tell you to come to the club today after classes," Hikaru said with half-lidded eyes. I frowned instantly, tilting my head to the side. "Fumiko said it canceled today." I told them with a confused frown. "It is but Milord wishes to speak with you."

Oh for the love of….

"Fine, fine. Just let go. I need to get to class," I bit out, pushing past them. I had no idea what Tamaki and the rest of the quirky club wanted but I didn't have time to dwell on it. Math was more important at the moment.

The room was empty, much to my annoyance. I had told Fumiko that I was going to study for my exam at the library and that I would be home later. I felt bad for lying to my sweet-faced cousin but I knew bringing her would be a mistake.

Before I could even sit down and wait for any of the members, I felt hands on my shoulders yank me off my feet. Whoever had me carried me to a backroom and I suddenly felt something constrict around my torso, pinning my arms to my sides. Finally, I was thrown into a chair.

Suddenly, a flashlight was being shined into my face.

Hikaru and Kaoru stared ominously at me. I wriggled uncomfortably but couldn't escape the ropes that were pinning my arms to my side. "What the hell is going on!?" I snapped, not caring to curve my language.

They shoved the flashlight in my face, nearly blinding me. "Where were you the night of August 32nd!?" Tamaki suddenly popped up from in between them, shoving his face into mine. I scowled harshly at him. "That's not even a day you psychotic blond weirdo!" I snapped in his face, growling. Tamaki seemed to realize his mistake because he vanished off into a depressing corner, growing mushrooms as he drew idle patterns into the carpet.

"When I told you to retrieve Izabera, I didn't mean tie her up," Kyoya sighed, practically popping up from nowhere. "That was completely uncalled for and rude, you two." Haruhi reprimanded them. Where the hell were these people when I was being dragged around like a rag doll?

"Could someone untie me?" I huffed loudly. I knew my face was turning red in annoyance. I could feel my cheeks and the back of my neck heating up from my agitation with these people.

Mori appeared at next to me, expertly undoing the knots that twins had made. He quietly grabbed the crock of my elbow and gently pulled me to my feet once he was done untying me. I sighed heavily and kindly thanked him before wheeling around to face my three culprits.

"Are you three insane? Who does that to a person? I knew I should have just gone home and ignored you. You can't just go around practically kidnapping people! That's no way to treat a lady," I began to scold them, hands on my hips. "Now," I twisted around and faced Kyoya; clearly he was the only one who would most likely say something rational.

"What is this all about?!"

Kyoya did not seem at all bothered by my sudden outburst. I knew Mom would reprimand me for losing my temper like that but I've had it up to here with those three boys! They were nothing but a nuisance.

"It's come to our attention that you've found out information regarding our Haruhi," He motioned towards the small girl. I folded my arms across my chest and tilted my head to the side. "What? That's 'he's' actually a she?" I rolled my eyes and tapped my foot against the carpet.

"Exactly."

I threw my hands up in exasperation. "Who cares?! It's not my business! Honestly…" I grumbled, pressing my fingers to my forehead. "How do we know you won't tell everyone?" Hikaru was suddenly in my face. I fixed a hateful glare on him but didn't back away.

"I just said it's not my business to tell. What gain will I have in telling the school about your secret?" I sniffed primly. "Personally I think making Haruhi masquerade as a boy to pay off an insanely high debt is a little unreasonable but she assured me that it's okay so I see no point in snitching." I huffed and shrugged my shoulders.

Suddenly, Tamaki sprang up with a surge of energy. "This is wonderful then! Now my lovely daughter will have her first female best friend! Perhaps Bera-Chan's feminine ways will rub off on Haruhi!" He gushed, embracing both Haruhi and I.

"Will you stop touching me!?"

"Let go, Senpai!"

What have I gotten myself into….?

* * *

TeeBeMe: Well…hope you guys like it. Izzy knows Haruhi's secret! Man, writing a fic for Ouran is a lot different than writing one for Naruto. It has a different sense of humor that I'm not accustomed to but I'll get used to it. I hope you guys enjoyed. Also, I noticed two things about OCs and Ouran fics. The OCs are always able to tell from the start that Haruhi is not a boy and they can easily tell the difference between Hikaru and Kaoru. I thought was strange. Izzy is a bright girl but she couldn't tell straight away if Haruhi was a girl, she had her doubts. And she still can't tell the difference between the twins, she only guesses when they talk to her. Just thought I'd share that with you all.

_Izzy: A review will be appreciated. Until next time._


	4. Take me for a ride

**TeeBeMe: Update, my loves!**

_Bella: TeeBeMe does not have the rights to Ouran. Only the the Iba family, the Giovanni family and other OCs. Enjoy!_

* * *

Sunday morning, I was hunched over my history homework. Fumiko had commented that I looked positively evil when I concentrated but I simply waved her off. I had opted out a day of shopping with her, Risa and Aika in order to study. I was a little jealous that they were able to waste their day shopping while I was here trying to study.

I groaned loudly suddenly and placed my forehead on my desk, sighing heavily. This was hopeless. The door to my room suddenly creaked open and Kya poked her head inside, frowning in concern. She had been checking on me throughout the morning to make sure I didn't toss my textbook out the window.

"Izzy? How about a break?" She suggested with a slightly nervous smile. I blew a strand of my hair out of my face and then sighed heavily. "That's probably a good idea," I stood up, glaring at the books spilled across my desk.

I followed her to the kitchen where a tray of various snacks had been left to be eaten. She joined me at the island, taking small nibbles of some things while I ate more, drinking milk every so often.

"Are you enjoying Ouran?" She asked pleasantly after a moment or two passed us by. "For the most part, I guess. I still don't understand Fu's obsession with the Host Club, they're strange," I shook my head, nibbling on a cookie.

"Fu tells me you're fond with the ones who are in your same year?" She raised thin black eyebrows. "Well, they aren't bothersome. Haruhi is fine, too. I think they're the sanest ones. Hani is a little….short and can swallow an entire cake…but he doesn't bother me."

"And the other?"

"Mori? He's a silent guy and speaks when spoken to."

Kya smirked at me and raised the sleeve of her kimono to cover the lower half of her face. I watched quietly as she giggled and twittered behind her sleeve. For some reason, I had a feeling Fu had told her something that probably wasn't true.

Before I could say anything, someone rang the doorbell. Kya instantly stood up, still giggling, to quickly answer the door. I vaguely heard Kya squeal sweetly and then gush kindly to whoever was at the door.

"Izzy! Izabera! Your darling friends have come to visit you!" Kya sung out loud from the front hallway. I frowned, pausing. Friends? Risa and Aika were already out with Fumiko. What friends could she possibly be talking about?

I pushed myself up from the island and quickly joined her in the front hallway. As soon as I saw who she was allowing into our home, I paled considerably and openly gaped at her.

The Host Club.

I turned around and tried to hurry back to the kitchen to hide but I was stopped by Kaoru and Hikaru. They sprang into action, grabbing me by my shoulders and whirling me around as if we were in an elaborate dance.

"Where are you running off to?" Hikaru pouted, snapping a hand around me to grip my hip. "God, why?" I moaned, pressing a hand to my face. "That's no way to greet your guests, Izzy!" Kya chided, hiding her face behind the sleeve of her kimono again.

"You don't understand how crazy these guys are, Oba-Sama!" I insisted with a whine. Kya chuckled and simply shook her head. "Please, make yourselves at home." She swept her arm out and then quickly vanished deeper into the house to answer a business call.

"Don't be so familiar with me," I huffed, swatting at Hikaru. "What are you guys doing here? Matter of fact, how do you guys know where I live?" I placed my hands on my hips, frowning.

"Kyoya-Chan told us," Hani smiled cutely up at me, hugging Usa-Chan to his chest. I glanced at Kyoya, my frown still set in place. "He knows everything," Haruhi muttered blankly, looking out of place among the well groomed boys. Not that she was dirty or anything, she was dressed simply and there were dressed in designer clothes, practically.

"Bera-Chan, where's your darling cousin?" Tamaki beamed sweetly at me. Seeing as how he wasn't trying to trap me in one of those insane flying hugs of his, I didn't see the need to snap at him or force him into his gloomy corner.

"She went out shopping with Aika and Risa," I shrugged indifferently, flipping some of my hair over my shoulder. "I wanted to get some studying done so I decided not to go," I told them before they could ask why I had not joined them.

"What a good girl!" Tamaki suddenly exclaimed, pulling me into a forced hug. "For the love of…" I trailed off. "Haruhi! Make him let me go," I huffed into his chest as Tamaki rambled on and on about how much of a good girl I was.

Haruhi shot him a dirty look. "Tamaki-Senpai, stop that," She chided him, eyes narrowed until Tamaki tearfully backed off. I huffed and smoothed the wrinkles he had caused out of my shirt. Five minutes and I was already clearly annoyed.

"Well? What are you guys doing here?" I asked, folding my arms across my chest. Tamaki seemed to perk up at my question. He began bouncing in place, screaming at the top of his lungs about something that I couldn't catch.

I sighed heavily, fed up with his babbling. "Can someone please explain what he's talking about?" Folding my arms across my chest, I sighed again for the second time in three minutes. This is exactly what I'm talking when I say Tamaki is such a goofy cartoon.

"There's a festival tonight, Berry-Chan!" Hani squealed from below me. I squatted down and smiled sweetly, patting him on the head. "Is that so, Hani-Chan?" I hummed sweetly to match my smile. I didn't understand why they were here just to tell me there was a festival tonight.

"Yeah! And Kao-Chan and Hika-Chan said we should invite you," He continued on with that sugary sweet voice. I continued smiling but on the inside, I was shouting a big fat no. I had too much studying to do and there was no way I was going to spend the entire day with this whacky bunch.

"That's nice of them," I shot them a look before slowly standing back up to my full height. "But I must decline," I kindly refused the invite, like my Mother had always taught me.

Hani began pouting and Tamaki began sputtering in sadness. "How come, Bera-Chan?" He sputtered, throwing himself at me for the second time that day. I reacted quickly, stepping out of the way and watching with a small smirk as his face slammed into the wooden floors.

Hikaru and Kaoru began laughing and pointing at the fallen blond. Hani hugged Usa-Chan to his little chest and then innocently poked Tamaki's prone body. Haruhi sighed heavily while Kyoya's glasses glinted. Mori remained stoic but there may have been a flicker of amusement dance in his dark eyes.

"Honestly, Tamaki…get up. You're messing up the floors," I swept my hair over my shoulder and left into the living room. "Well? Come on, you're crowding the front door!" I beckoned them to follow after me, poking my head out of the archway.

The Host Club twittered around my living room, looking at pictures, magazines, under the sofa, anything that was just strange. Haruhi, Mori and Kyoya remained normal, opting to sit on the sofa while the remaining four members darted around the living room.

"Is this your family, Berry-Chan?" Hani pointed at a picture framed on the wall. I had forgotten all about that picture hanging on the wall. I think we took that on a vacation to Japan when I was about fifteen so Lorenzo was twenty-three, Eddy was twenty-two and Ralph was twenty.

"Yeah, the one in the back, that's my Dad and that's my Mom next to him. Those are my older brothers, Lorenzo, Eddy and Ralph," I smiled, pointing out each of my older brothers. "They're almost as tall as Takashi!" Hani exclaimed with cheer, throwing his hands up.

"Almost," I grinned widely and then looked at Mori. His face remained blank but I only shrugged it off and looked down at Hani. "There are sweets in the kitchen. Would you like some, Hani?" I offered, pointing directly across the living room to our kitchen.

Hani's eyes brightened and he glanced at Mori for a second. The gentle giant nodded slightly and then Hani was gone, screaming out a quick 'thank you!' to me before vanishing into my kitchen. A second later, Mori was obediently following the small blond into the kitchen.

"Bera-Chan, why won't you come to the festival with us tonight?" Tamaki whined, looking as if he wanted to attempt another hug. I ran my hands through my thick hair and mumbled to myself in annoyance.

"Because I decided today would be perfect to study. Fu will be out for the entire day and it gives me a perfect opportunity to study with no distractions," I said the word 'distractions' slowly, trying to hint at something.

"It's like she's an older version of Haruhi! All she ever wants to do is study, just like Haruhi! So boring," one of the twins huffed loudly, eliciting a glare from both Haruhi and I. The younger first-year folded her arms across her chest with an annoyed frown.

"We can't all come from rich families who can pay your way through school," She reminded them bluntly. "Rich bastards…" She mumbled the last part as Kaoru and Hikaru hugged her, whining out their apologies about forgetting that she was just a 'poor commoner'.

Although my family could pay my way through school, it certainly didn't give me an excuse to just sit back and flunk all of my classes. I liked having my good grades; it made me feel accomplished to pass with good grades. And I wasn't going to let this strange bunch ruin my honor roll.

"Foul demonic twins! You unhand my daughter this minute!" Tamaki shouted, shooting glares at the twins. Blankly, I watched as the tall blond bickered with the devilish twins while Haruhi stood, seemingly used to this sort of treatment.

"This is so ridiculous…." I sighed heavily, sagging my shoulders. How could they be so childish? I thought boys were supposed to mature into 'men' by the time they hit high school. Ah, I suppose I'm giving them too much credit, hm?

"Aren't you forgetting our reason for coming here, Tamaki?" Kyoya suddenly asked, glancing up from that black book he always seemed to have. I wonder what he wrote in it all the time. I wonder what would happen if I tried to take a peek…

Kyoya suddenly shot me a look and it caused me to visibly stiffen before giving a nervous smile in return. Okay, if he was going to give me looks like that, I really didn't want to get close enough to look in that strange book.

"Oh yes! Bera-Chan, do you have any yukatas to wear to the festival?" Tamaki was suddenly in my face, smiling widely and blinding me with his pearly white teeth. I wonder how much he paid to have those things that white.

"I don't own any yukatas and even if I did, it wouldn't matter. I already told you I won't be attending the festival tonight," I huffed with a frown. "And would you please give me some room to breath?" I growled, shoving him by his face away from me. Tamaki whined in protest.

"Bera-Chan, you've left us with no choice…"

"Excuse me?"

"Mori-Senpai! Plan B, if you will!"

I frowned in confusion. What in the world was he talking about now? Haruhi seemed to pale before she began protesting. "I really don't think we should resort to this," She began to say before I was literally swept off of my feet.

"Oh my God!" I shrieked as Mori swept me over his shoulder. "What in the world is the meaning of this? Put me down this minute, Mori! I swear!" I started to shout loudly, squirming around.

Kya suddenly peeked into the room, curious as to why I was shouting. "What's going on?" She asked slowly, glancing around the room. "Oba-Sama! Help me!" I whined, holding my hands out to her.

"We're just taking Berry-Chan to a festival tonight," Hani cutely smiled at my Aunt. She seemed to forget about me being held like a sack of flower over Mori's shoulder. She smiled widely, returning Hani's warmth.

"That seems fun. Please watch after my niece for the day. Have a nice time, Izzy," She gave me one last smile before walking off to continue whatever business she had been attending to before coming into the living room.

"Oba-Sama!" I called after her, dropping my head in defeat. First Fumiko betrays me for this Host club and then my Aunt. Some family members I have! Traitors! My Mom would have protected me, I'm sure.

"Stop moving or you'll fall." Mori instructed me smoothly, following behind the Host club. "Sorry about this," Haruhi apologized to me as I sighed heavily. I placed my elbow into Mori's back and leaned my chin on it, looking at both her and Hani. The two had opted to follow behind Mori so they could talk to me.

"Don't worry, Haruhi. I know you have nothing to do with this," I sighed sullenly. "You know, I don't even have shoes on!" I reminded Tamaki with a scowl, suddenly remembering that I was only wearing my house socks.

"That's alright, Hime! Those devils will provide shoe wear for the evening!" He exclaimed loudly. I only groaned in return. Like I even trusted those twins not to have something up their sleeves. I was not looking forward to whatever these twin morons had planned for me.

* * *

"Oh no! I refuse! I'm not some doll you can play with!" I growled, trying to escape the hands of the twins. They proved to be faster than me, catching me by my shoulders and pulling me back to sit back on the stool they had forced me to sit on earlier.

"She's more stubborn than Haruhi!"

"It's quite amazing."

I growled and tried to slip out of their hold. They had dragged me to the Hitachiin mansion to get ready for this festival that would be starting soon. I hadn't really been paying attention until they sat me down in a bathroom and began to advance on me with beauty tools.

"Just let it happen, Bera!" Hikaru forced me back onto the stool. I only groaned loudly and slumped my shoulders in defeat. There really was no way of getting out of this. Even if I managed to get away from the twins, someone like Tamaki or Mori would catch me.

"What's happened to my life?" I sighed heavily as they both smiled evilly at me. I sat quietly as they worked away on my face with their cosmetic tools. I heard them mumble about my high cheek bones and how light my eyes were. They even noticed the small beauty mark at the corner of my left eye.

Finally after twenty agonizing minutes of them poking and prodding at my hair and face, they stepped back with gleeful grins. "Hair and make up is finished!" Kaoru exclaimed, going to the door. "Where's the yukata?"

Haruhi shuffled in, already dressed in a pale pink yukata with a light yellow obi around her waist. They hadn't done much with her hair on the account that it was too short. Instead, they held her bangs back with a pretty butterfly clip that matched the butterflies on the corner of her yukata.

"You look so pretty, Haruhi," I complimented sweetly from my spot on the the stool faced away from the large mirror. "I asked Yuzuha-San to keep it simple. I guess this is as simple as she could get," Haruhi shook her head. "They wouldn't listen to a word I said," I pointed a finger at the twins.

"You would've preferred if we didn't do anything!" Hikaru reminded me while rolling his eyes. "At least we're getting to know each other," I mumbled out of the side of my mouth. "At least you look nice and they didn't over do it," Haruhi shot them a certain look but they only smiled innocently. I had no idea what she was alluding to, obviously something they had done before I came along.

I glanced in the mirror and found myself smiling just a little bit. The dark makeup around my eyes made my hazel brown eyes appear even more lighter than usual. My usual pink lips were now a glossy red. Half of my hair had been gathered up, pinned to my head with a light red clip while the rest fell to my back.

"Not bad," I mused to myself, smirking when I saw the offended looks the twins gave me. "We're not amateurs," Hikaru reminded me with a scowl. "Could have fooled me with your immature personalities," I replied airily.

"Now, out. If you don't get out right now, I won't put that on," I pointed to the yukata Haruhi had been holding. Hikaru and Kaoru shot me double glares before slinking out the bathroom. Once the door closed behind them, I let out a long sigh of relief.

"You're amazing for putting up with them for so long," I told her with a grin. "You learn to get used it, I suppose. And with the interest they have for you, you might have to get used to it," She shot me a smile before unfolding the fabric.

The yukata was a light red with a white flower pattern. The obi was a darker shade of red and I found myself trying to knot the damn thing myself but failing. "Haruhi, would you help me out? I have no idea what I'm doing," I admitted my defeat, holding the folds of my yukata close since the obi refused to cooperate with me.

Haruhi thought it was funny but nodded with a small laugh. She stepped behind me and pulled at the ends of the obi, twisting the fabric into a nice bow that held my yukata into place.

"I can't image why Mother wears these every day…" I mumbled to myself, making sure everything was in the right place. "Your Mother wears kimonos every day even though she lives in Italy?" She asked with curious eyes. "Yeah, I guess to hold onto her Japanese roots. She didn't make me wear them though. I guess that's why I don't know how to put them on myself," I shrugged, feeling out of place in the yukata.

"Alright, we're ready," Haruhi said first, turning around. Before she could open the door, it was wrenched open by Tamaki. "Look! Look how cute my daughter is with her first female friend!" He giddily shouted, pointing at the two of us.

"I think he's lost his mind…" I trailed off with a thoughtful look. "I don't think it was ever intact," Haruhi shook her head, which caused me to laugh. "See, Mama? They're laughing together!" Tamaki continued with a smile. "Yes, at your expanse," Kyoya pointed out coolly. I rolled my eyes and placed my hands on my hips. "Yes, yes. Tamaki is a weird idiot. Can we go now?"

Tamaki instantly began to pout but I ignored it. "Here, Berry-Chan," Hani waved a paper fan in the air. "Thank you so much, Hani." I smiled widely and took the paper fan from him. Not really sure of what to do with it, I tucked it in my obi and gave him a thankful pat on his head.

Tamaki herded Haruhi and I into a sleek car with him and refused to let the twins ride with us. I vaguely recalled him shouting at them. "Back! Back you foul demons! You shall not sully their innocence with your dirty presences!"

I ignored them all until we arrived in the 'commoner's neighborhood', as Tamaki would call it. I wonder if Haruhi ever got offended. By the annoyed expression, I would say she got annoyed more than offended. Tamaki climbed out of the sleek car first and offered a hand to Haruhi. She sighed heavily, grumbled something and shockingly, took his hand. I smiled smugly at her and took whoever had offered their hand to me. I was a little surprised when Mori was the one who helped me out of the car. Sheepishly smiling, I thanked him and turned away to hide my idiotic smile.

I glanced around at all of the vendors. The decorations were strung around and the atmosphere was wonderful. I knew I was smiling in awe, my eyes roving over everything. I had never been to one of these festivals.

"Look! Sweets!" Hani suddenly pointed in a random direction. Leave it to that small blond to spot the sweets first out of everything. "Berry-Chan, come with us to get those sweets!" Hani tugged on the fabric of my kimono, giving me a cute look. "But what about…" I turned to look back at the Host Club but paused. They were making a spectacle of themselves, pointing anything unfamiliar out and asking what Haruhi what it was. Kyoya had slunk away, sitting on one of the benches.

"Nevermind them," I waved those three idiots off. Poor Haruhi. "Is it alright with you, Mori?" I asked, craning my neck back to look at him. Despite my unusually tall height for a girl, he still towered over me considerably.

He tucked his hands into his pants and shrugged. "Sweets are fine," He replied calmly. I nodded and followed behind Hani's excited path, Mori following next to me. "It's amazing that he doesn't gain any weight, you know? I bet if I ate sweets like that, it would go straight to my hips," I huffed, watching as Hani gazed at the snacks the vendor was selling.

"I think Berry-Chan looks fine, ne, Takashi?" Hani commented offhandedly. I blushed, playing with a thick strand of my hair. I glanced at Mori, wanting to know what he would say. Not that it mattered, really. We were just friends _(I think)_ and it wasn't like I liked him more than a friend or anything. We had just met!

I don't sound too convincing, do I?

"Ah," Takashi nodded after a pause. I could literally feel my face heating up. I folded my arms behind my back and ducked my head down, trying to hide my blushing face from the two.

Hani began devouring all of the sweets he had bought while Mori and I quietly sat on the bench. "You don't like sweets too much, Mori?" I asked after Hani had offered me a lollipop. I twirled a thick strand of my hair around my finger, glancing at Mori.

He shrugged, having an indifferent opinion. By now, I was starting to catch on to the fact that in order to communicate with Mori, you had to watch his motions. Smiling widely, I nodded my head. "I don't eat them a lot either. Only when Fu makes me eat them," I shrugged, watching as Hani kicked his legs cutely. Mori nodded and lifted his hand, settling it on the top of my head to ruffle my hair between his long fingers.

We continued on with our night, buying cheap little trinkets and playing silly little games. I was surprised that I was actually having a lot of fun with the group of boys. When they weren't being annoying and invading my space, they were quite pleasant.

I was walking in between Mori and Kyoya when something caught the corner of my eye. Pausing, I wheeled around and spotted a little boy sniffling and wiping his nose with the sleeve of his kimono. Automatically I padded towards the little boy, frowning. "Where's your Mom?" I asked softly, crouching down to his level. He sniffled again and his lower lip trembled. "I don't know..." He began to sob loudly, scaring me a little bit.

"What's the matter, Bera?"

I turned around to see the club standing over me. "It would seem this young boy has lost his Mother," Kyoya pointed out coolly. Gathering the boy up in my arms, I stood up and looked around to see if I could spot any panicking mothers around.

"Is your Mama wearing a pretty yukata?" Hani asked with large eyes, peering up at the boy in my arms. He nodded with a sniffle, mumbling about her wearing a light blue yukata and having long black hair in a ponytail.

"We must find this young boy's Mother at once!" Tamaki shouted with a self-righteous pose. Several people turned to stare at us because of his sudden outburst. "Stop acting like that," Haruhi scolded him as the twins stuck their tongues out at him.

"Mama! Our daughter is rebelling!" Tamaki exclaimed with watery eyes. "We don't have time for your strange fantasies, Tamaki. We have to find this kid's Mom," I rolled my eyes. I would have pinched the bridge of my nose in exasperation if I hadn't been holding the boy.

Tamaki began mumbling something but I just ignored him, turning away. Searching through the crowd, I sighed heavily. "This is impossible. How are we supposed to find his Mother?" I sighed heavily after a few minutes of searching.

"Let's split up!" Hani suggested from below all of us. "Wonderful idea, Hani-Senpai! I shall go with my lovely daughter and…" Tamaki began to say, only to be cut off by his 'daughter'. "I'm not going with you."

"What?! But why?"

"She can come with us!" Hikaru smirked deviously, reaching for Haruhi. "I won't go with you either," Haruhi quickly stepped out of reach from the twins, folding her arms across her chest. The devil twins instantly began whining, demanding that she go with them.

"You three are hopelessly in love with her…" I mumbled under my breath. The trio didn't seem to hear me and neither did Haruhi, but the remaining three caught on to my mumbling. "How about Haruhi goes with Hani-Senpai and Tamaki will come with me," Kyoya offered suddenly. "And Berry-Chan can go with Takashi!" Hani bounced up happily. "H-Huh?" I stuttered, holding on to the sniffling boy tighter.

"Don't worry, Berry-Chan! Takashi will protect you, ne?" Hani patted my leg and glanced at his much taller cousin. Mori obediently nodded and I blushed but shrugged. "Well, alright. Try not to cause any trouble. We're trying to help, not trouble anyone," I reminded Hikaru, Kaoru and Tamaki.

"Call if you find her!" Tamaki shouted as I picked a random direction, Mori following my silently. We picked through the crowd, asking the little boy if he saw his Mom anywhere.

"This is still taking so long," I mumbled softly, looking around. Using his height to his advantage, Mori searched over the crowds, trying to spot the black haired Mother. Haku, the little boy had stopped crying now, courtesy of the lollipop we had given him.

"Well, at least he isn't crying anymore. I bet people were probably beginning to think we kidnapped him," I pointed out with a wry smile. I sat down quietly and offered him my smile when Mori joined me, his legs stretching out far.

I chuckled at his exaggerated height. I'm sure he looked even more large next to me. "Maybe if we just sit here, she'll walk by us," I suggested, looking around. Mori nodded quietly from beside me, eyes still scoping the area around us. Haku idly played with a lock of my hair as we picked through the crowd.

"You know….I still can't understand why you're apart of the Host Club, Mori. They're so strange. Mm, except Haruhi and Hani-Chan. Well, I thought Haruhi was strange for allowing you guys to make her masquerade as a boy…but I think it's quite obvious why she sticks around," I tapped my chin, thoughtfully.

I looked over and smiled when I saw Mori staring at me. Shifting Haku to a more comfortable position, I leaned back into the bench. "I think she likes Tamaki. At first, I thought it was strange that she stuck around after so long. But it's kind of obvious, don't you think?"

He nodded and I began to bounce my knee, smiling when Haku giggled and twittered. Several minutes passed but his Mother still didn't happen to cross us, so we remained seated. I hoped that his Mother didn't leave little Haku here.

"Are you still having troubles with history?" Mori suddenly asked me, catching me off guard. He barely spoke unless I spoke to him first. I sighed heavily and ran my fingers through my thick bangs. His voice was a quiet and smooth hum and it made me smile softly.

"Unfortunately, yes. But I'm sure if I just concentrate a little harder…" I tapped my chin and then sighed, giving up on the thought of actually understanding the text. "I think I'll just throw my textbook out the window," I rolled my eyes and slumped my shoulders, pouting. Mori caught me off guard for the second time when he suddenly chuckled lowly.

"I'll tutor you."

Raising my eyebrows, I stared at him, at a loss for words. "Ah! No, no! I can't trouble you like that. You have the Host Club and Hani-Chan said you were in the Kendo club. You sound like you're really busy, you know? That's terribly selfish of me because you have such little time and I have all this time because I'm not apart of any of these clubs," I started to ramble, a bad habit of mine when I'm really nervous.

Mori reached over and placed his hand on the crown of my head and ruffling my hair. The action caused my hair to fall out of the clip. He looked a little surprised that the clip fell out my hair and I could just tell he was going to blame himself for messing up my hair.

"It's fine," I grabbed the clip before it could slid down and hit the ground and probably crack. The last thing I needed was for the twins to complain about how rough I treated their hair ornaments. "My hair was falling out of it anyway," I reassured the gentle giant, who was probably brooding over the clip falling.

"But as I was saying," I placed the comb into the sleeve of my yukata and finger-brushed my hair. "It would be rude of me to ask for you help," I continued as I was doing earlier, shaking my head. Mori shot a confused look at me and then shook his head with an amused smirk.

"You aren't asking. I'm offering," He pointed out coolly. Haku thoughtlessly reached up and tangled his chubby hand in my hair with a smile. "Well, that's true…" I trailed off thoughtfully. I turned to say something but paused when I noticed he was looking at me intently.

Before I could give him an answer, Haku suddenly shouted in glee from my lap. "Mama!" He exclaimed loudly, eyes shooting forward. "Huh?" I looked up dumbly, spotting Tamaki and Kyoya coming towards us with-what I assumed to be Haku's mother.

"My dear niece! We have located young Haku's missing Mother!" Tamaki shouted as soon as he saw Mori and I with Haku. "Did he just call me his niece?" I muttered sourly, standing up. I handed Haku over to his Mother immediately and then turned to Tamaki with a frown.

"I didn't know I was your niece, all of a sudden," I folded my arms across my chest as Tamaki smiled widely at me. "Of course you are my niece! And Haruhi is my daughter! We're one big happy family," He gushed while lightly clapping his hands together.

"Right…" I trailed off before turning to Haku and his Mother. "Alright, make sure you stay with your Mother always! Okay?" I leaned forward to pat his head as his Mother thanked us with tears brimming at the corner of her eyes. Waving goodbye, I watched as she walked away, clutching little Haku to her chest.

"What an adventure we had today," I clapped my hands and spun to face the three of them. "It was quite a day!" Tamaki loudly agreed, nodding. "I bet the twins probably found Haruhi and Hani-Chan by now," I tapped my chin, watching Tamaki's smile drop into an anxious frown.

"Mommy! We must find our daughter at once! She is at the mercy of those devil boys!" He began to shout like a crazy person. "He's in love with her for sure," I grinned, folding my arms across my chest. Kyoya shot me a dirty look for causing Tamaki to go around shouting like that.

"What are you screaming about, Senpai?"

Tamaki paused and turned around to see Haruhi, Hikaru, Kaoru and Hani frowning in confusion at him. "My lovely daughter is unharmed!" He exclaimed loudly, running over to her and fiercly hugging her. I simply ignored him and bent down to Hani's level with a smile.

"Did you stay close with Haruhi-Chan, Hani-Chan?" I asked cutely, patting him on the head. His big eyes sparkled and he smiled widely at me. "Of course! Haru-Chan looked after me," He replied. "I'm sure Mori is glad to hear that, right?" I turned to look at Mori, who was standing over both Hani and I.

He shoved his hands into his pocket and then quietly nodded. Watching quietly, Hani scrambling up the length of Mori's body, sitting on his shoulders and dangling his legs down his chest. "Well, today was surprisingly wonderful but I think I should be getting home now," I hummed out, reaching into my sleeve for the hair clip. "Here," I handed it to either Hikaru or Kaoru and frowned when they both shook their heads no.

"We don't want it anymore," Hikaru spat his tongue out. "Why not? What's the matter with it?" instantly I frowned and placed my hands on my hips. "It's been in your hair all day! Who knows what strange Italian germs it has now?" Kaoru huffed, folding his arms across his chest.

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard," I rolled my eyes and shoved the clip back into my sleeve. "Could someone take me home, please? Or let me borrow their phone so I can call home for a car to be sent?" I glanced around the group.

Kaoru and Hikaru grinned deviously but I rolled my eyes. "Except for you. There's no way I'm riding in a car with you two," I folded my arms across my chest and poked my hip to the side. "How rude!" Kaoru exclaimed loudly with narrowed eyes. "After all we've done tonight," Hikaru huffed along with his brother while I rolled my eyes again.

"Oh please," I waved their whining off and turned to the others. "We can take you home, Berry-Chan," Hani said from above all of us. Craning my neck back to stare up at him, I smiled a sugary sweet smile at him. "If it's not too much trouble, I would appreciate it!"

Waving goodbye to the rest of the club, I followed obediently after Mori and Hani. I was walking just fine for a couple of minutes before I heard something snap from underneath me and I nearly stumbled onto my face.

Looking down, I frowned in annoyance once I realized the thong of my sandal had snapped. "For the love of…." I trailed off, slapping my forehead. "Berry-Chan? What happened?" Hani turned around once he noticed I wasn't following after him and his cousin.

I bent down to grab the broken sandal, bending my leg up so I didn't get my foot dirty. "You'd think that being rich, they would have better materials," I muttered to myself, thinking about Hikaru and Kaoru, those darn twins.

"My sandal broke," I sighed heavily, showing Hani my broken sandal. "How in the world am I supposed to walk? It's not like I have any socks on to protect my feet," I slapped my forehead again. Hani looked confused for a moment before turning back to Mori. "Ne, Takashi?"

I was caught completely off guard when Mori scooped me up. My face flushed scarlet red when I settled in his arms, one arm under my knees and the other gripping my side. I was so surprised by his sudden movement, I was stunned into silence.

"All better now, right Berry-Chan?" Hani asked from below, smiling widely up at me. I laughed nervously and fixed my arms around his neck. "Well, I suppose…" I trailed off with a weakened smile. "Thank you, Mori…"

When their car arrived, he slid me in, Hani following. The entire ride home, Hani babbled about how much fun he had and how the sweets were quite delicious. Every so often, I put in my two-cents but Hani had control of the conversation the entire time.

Arriving home, Mori got out first and leaned in, grabbing me like he had done earlier. I waved goodbye to Hani and looked towards my home. I really hoped Fumiko was in her room, the last thing I needed was her to witness Mori carrying me around like this. She'd never shut up. Ever. I'm not kidding.

The door swung open before he could put me down and I grimaced, fearing the worst. "Izzy!" Kya exclaimed with slightly wide eyes. "Are you alright? What happened? Why is Morinozuka-San carrying you? Are you hurt?" She started to fire off questions. My face brightened up considerably. "You can put me down now, Mori. My Aunt is having a break down," I chuckled in humor.

Mori set me down on my feet gently. "Thank you, Mori. I had fun," I dipped forward in a polite bow with a sweet smile. Through my lashes, I noticed the corner of his lips quirked into what would be a smile or a smirk. He dipped his head to return my bow. "Good night. See you at school tomorrow," Mori nodded down at me before turning around and going back to the waiting car.

I watched quietly until the car vanished from view before turning around to look at Kya. She was staring at me intently, searching for something. She was nervous and pulled at the sleeve of her kimono every few seconds.

"Oba-Sama? Did something happen while I was out? Where's Fu?" I asked carefully, slipping the sandal off my foot and holding it with its broken twin. "You look lovely in that yukata, dear…" She trailed off while looking past me.

"Oba-Sama...what happened?" I asked slowly, squinting at her. Nervously, she pulled at her sleeve again. "Your Uncle Takuma…." She began with a heavy sigh. I groaned loudly and walked past her to the kitchen. "What's he done now?"

She followed after me, frowning. "Nothing yet. I would just feel better if you were at home safe from now on instead of going out with your friends," Kya stopped at the doorway while I reached for a glass. "Home safe..?" I blinked, my eyebrows scrunching together. I found it strange that she was glad to have the Host Club drag me out of the house earlier but now she was insisting that being home was much safer. "Did Takuma threaten me or something?" I started to laugh at the thought. Takuma is racist but he's not crazy enough to threaten to harm me! That's just absurd.

"Oba-Sama? You're not laughing with me," slowly I stopped laughing, frowning at her. "That's not something to laugh at, Isabella…" Kya sighed heavily. I set the glass down on the counter and turned around to stare at her. "Are you telling me that Uncle Takuma has actually threatened me?" I asked my Aunt with my arms folded and my eyebrows rose up my forehead. Kya only slumped her shoulders in defeat. "Mio Dio….he's actually insane…" I mumbled, leaning my hip against the counter.

"It's because I'm the eldest and I'm half Italian, right?" I asked sourly. Takuma's son, Katsu was Fumiko's age. Out of the three of us, I was the oldest and my Mother was also the oldest out of Kya and Takuma.

This meant that I was next in line to run the automobile business when I was old enough. Obviously Takuma has always had a problem with this fact because he's a racist insane person who thinks the business should be ran by a pure blood, namely, his son.

And now he wanted to kill me.

"My life is perfect," I sighed heavily, looking up at the ceiling in exasperation. "Don't worry, nothing will happen! I will make sure of it," Kya told me firmly. "Of course," I nodded absently, not really paying attention. "Meanwhile, why was Morinozuka-San carrying you home?" She asked me slowly, slinking up next to me. "Don't get excited," I chuckled at her curiosity. "He was only carrying me because I broke my sandal," I explained to her, arms folded across my chest.

"I'm sure he was," Kya slanted her eyes at me. "Just what are you suggesting?" I asked in a high pitched prim voice. "There's no need to be so formal, dear," Kya clucked her tongue, brushing her fingers through my hair. "No idea what you're talking about…" I trailed off airily.

"He's quite the looker, don't you think?" Kya asked, leaning closer to me. "Well, yes, I suppose…" I began to say only to pause and give her a look. "Oh no you don't," I shook my head, catching her innocent smile.

"I bet he's a good kisser…"

"Oba-Sama!"

* * *

"If Oba-Sama is upset that I'm coming home late, I'm telling her it's your fault."

I followed after Fumiko, looking up every so often from my History notes to make sure I was still following her. "I can't believe you went out with the Host club yesterday and didn't even tell me!" She complained with a huff. "I specifically remember Tamaki having Mori carry me out of the house yesterday since I didn't cooperate with them," I pointed out with a frown. "And besides, you were out with Aika and Risa shopping."

"That's beside the point! I could have spent an entire evening with Kyoya-San," She whispered, clinging to my arm. "It's not that serious, Fu…" I trailed off with a blank look. "Of course you'd say that. You got to spend the entire time with Mori-Senpai," She pouted childishly.

"I spent it with Hani-Chan too," I lamely reminded her with a red face. "Mama told me Mori-Senpai carried you to our home," She added slyly. "That was sweet of him," She continued with a smirk. My face heated up and my fingers gripped my notebook tighter. "My sandal broke, he was just being polite," I snapped at her, my face burning bright red. "I'm sure he was," She shot back impishly. "You know, I think I'll designate Kyoya today. I'm sure he'd love to hear all about your little crush on him…"

"You wouldn't!" She gaped at me as we stood in front of the Music room number 3's doors. "I really think I would," I smirked down at her, placing a hand on my hip. "If you do, I'll tell everyone your nickname," She threatened me.

"I can live that down, you, on the other hand cannot."

"What nickname?"

Fumiko and I both screamed loudly, noticing the twins had been watching us while we were bickering. When we regained our wits, Fumiko opened her big fat mouth. "Her nickname, Izzy-Bus-mmph!" She started to say only to gasp when I slapped my hand over her mouth.

"You heard wrong. We didn't say anything about a nickname," I smiled pleasantly and pushed past them, dragging my cousin behind me. "What a surprise, Izabera-Hime dragging Fumiko-Hime here?" Kyoya noticed the two of us first.

"Anything is possible," I forced a smile towards him and then glanced at Fumiko. "In fact," I pulled her closer to the tables Kyoya's guests usually occupy. "Fumiko was just telling me about how she wanted to designate you, Kyoya-San," I lied sweetly. Fumiko, with wide eyes, gasped from underneath my palm. Still smiling sweetly, I forced her into the chair across from him. "Hope it's not too much trouble, Kyoya-San," I was still smiling but I'm pretty sure Fumiko knew I was cackling like a witch internally.

"I'll be over with Hani-Chan and Mori, bye!" I waved at her and quickly moved on to the two. "Oh! Haruhi," I noticed the shorter first year setting down a tray of sweets and tea for Hani and his guests. "I hope those three knuckleheads didn't overwhelm you after Hani and Mori took me home," I smiled at her, stopping to talk before she began her hosting duties.

"Nothing I can't handle on a regular basis," She shrugged with a blank expression. "You're a strong person," I commented, folding my arms across my chest. "I got used to them, after awhile," She replied before bidding me goodbye and moving on to her hosting duties.

I sat down with a slight huff next to Mori like I had down the last couple of times. "Hi, Berry-Chan," Hani smiled at me once I got myself comfortable. "Hi Hani-Chan, Mori." I greeted them calmly, placing my history notes off to the side. Mori nodded in greeting.

I noticed two girls eyeing me carefully. Not one to be afraid to talk to people, I leaned forward a little bit with a kind smile. "Hello," I greeted them kindly, watching as they twittered nervously behind their hands. "Ah, you're Giovanni-San, right?" the first one asked a bit nervously. "Yes, that's me. May I help you?" I asked, hoping they could understand with my awkward accent. "Well, you spend a lot of time with," She paused and leaned forward towards me. I noticed her brown eyes flickering towards Mori before focusing back on me.

"With Mori-kun and we were just wondering what that was like…" Her voice dropped to a whisper but I'm also positive that both Hani and Mori heard her question. I started to laugh nervously and quickly sat up straight, bumping my shoulder into Mori's arm.

"Um…" I trailed off, sounding impossibly stupid. "It's nice, I suppose. He's very helpful to others and he cares a lot about Hani-Chan. I don't spend as much time with him as people assume though," I quickly explained, my face heating up for the 100th time.

"But what about the evening you spent with him last night?" the other asked me with wide eyes. I almost openly gaped at but stopped when I realized how foolish I would have looked. "…How did you come across information like that?" I asked her slowly.

I suddenly heard a spark of electricity.

"Oh, good Lord…." I mumbled, already prepared for Renge to appear out of the floor on that giant spinning platform. Perhaps if I hadn't of asked where the two girls got that piece of information, Renge wouldn't have appeared. Her boisterous laugh filled the room and I found myself grimacing. Looking around, I noticed the other hosts were reacting in a similar way except for Kyoya. Renge jumped from her platform to stand over me.

I leaned towards her, placing my elbow on the arm of the couch and resting my cheek in the palm of my hand. "Renge," I greeted her with a bland voice. "Izabera-Senpai," She greeted with more flare, hands on her hips. "I'm guessing you have something to do with the rumor going around involving Mori and myself, hm?" I asked coolly, quirking a dark brown eyebrow. Mentally, I was cursing her in Italian.

"It's not a false rumor," She replied with a smirk. "In fact," She produced a phone from practically nowhere and shoved it in my face. On the screen of her phone, I was confronted with a picture that must have been taken last night. Specifically of myself and Mori.

"When was that taken?" I mumbled thoughtfully with raised eyebrows. "And who took it?" I titled my head to the side as Renge began laughing again. "That's classified," She cooed down at me. I only sighed and sagged my shoulders. "The things these girls will believe…." I mumbled to myself.

"What is this?!" Tamaki shouted at the top of his lungs. I cringed as he bounded towards us, flapping his arms like a crazy person. "How dare someone take unflattering pictures of my dear niece without her Uncle's permission?!" He declared dramatically, snatching the phone

"Unflattering?" I narrowed my eyes at him. "Not that I'm condoning taking pictures of me without my permission, _not yours_, I don't look unflattering, you fantasying snob," I huffed in annoyance as he whined over the picture. Tamaki seemed to ignore me because he carried on with whining about the picture.

Hani crawled over both Mori and I to peer over Tamaki's shoulder at the picture. He let out a loud giggle and clapped his hands. I watched blankly at the group of girls squealed loudly and cooed over how cute Hani could be. While Hani was indeed adorable, I wouldn't stoop so low as to squeal every time he did something cute. I would look like an idiot.

Like Fumiko.

"They're adorable together, wouldn't you agree Hani-Senpai?" Renge gushed. "We're surrounded by idiots, right?" I sighed heavily and looked at Mori with an exasperated frown. Mori looked slightly uncomfortable with all the attention buzzing around the two of us. But a moment later, he was nodding in agreement.

"Right, let's take care of this…" I mumbled, snatching the phone from Tamaki. With a blank face, I deleted the picture, ignoring Renge and Tamaki's expressions. "Honestly, you need a hobby," I reprimanded Renge before dropping her phone back in her hand. With a flourish of my marshmallow dress, I stood up with my bag in my hand.

"Well, not that this insanity isn't fun, but I should go home now," I announced, watching as Hani pouted and Tamaki's eyes began to comically gush waterfalls of tears out. "You're leaving us so soon, my niece?" He whined childishly. "Yes, that's the idea," I replied sarcastically, choosing to ignore being called his niece.

Bidding Mori, Hani, and Haruhi goodbye, I dragged Fumiko out of the room. I didn't need any of them questioning why I wanted to leave early. Although Kya had insisted that I would be safe from Takuma but I had my doubts. Who knows what the crazy idiot is planning to do?

_End P.O.V_

After Bella hastily dragged her cousin out of the room and the rest of the female guests left, Renge pouted childishly. "How rude of her, she deleted my picture of Mori-Senpai and her," She whined, folding her arms across her chest.

"Well, I suppose I could send you another copy of it," Kyoya began to say, tapping away at his laptop. He glanced up at Renge, his glasses glinting in the light. "For a small fee, of course," He continued. "Who knew the girls would be so interested in Bera," Kaoru hummed, wrapping his arm around Hikaru's waist. "We should dress her up again. She does look pretty in that picture. We're so gifted, "Hikaru hummed off-handily.

"Kyoya-Senpai, you took that picture?" Haruhi frowned at the dark king in a disapproving manner. Kyoya chuckled and shook his head. "Of course I didn't. I was too busy babysitting Tamaki to have the time to take such a picture," Kyoya replied, standing up from his couch.

"Who could have possibly taken such a picture then?" Tamaki frowned, glancing around the room. Mori blinked in question and then paused from gathering his bag. He looked down at his shorter cousin who was consuming a very large cake.

"Mitsukuni."

Hani paused and smiled widely, titling his head in mock confusion. "Hani-Senpai, you took that picture?" Haruhi folded her arms across her chest and sighed heavily. She should've known it was him. Although he was devastatingly cute, Hani was a capable eighteen year old guy. Looks should never fool anyone.

Haruhi only sighed heavily. Poor Bella was slowly being sucked in the whacky world that was the Host Club. Haruhi was sure Bella was going to be quite annoyed once she figured out that the Host Club truly was becoming quite attached to her.

Poor thing never had a chance.

* * *

**TeeBeMe: I like picking on Tamaki. He's such a dork! lol. Anyway, if anyone is wondering why Hani calls Bella 'Berry' (I thought it was obvious) it's because Bella is obviously said as Bera in Japanese. Bera almost sounds like Berry, so he calls her that. Plus, he likes sweets, berries are sweet and he likes Bella. **

_Bella: Hope you all enjoyed my suffering, please review. I'm so glad people like me!_


	5. Even if I say it'll be alright?

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the rights to Ouran.

* * *

"Is there a reasonable explanation for invading my personal breathing space?"

Tamaki, Kaoru and Hikaru had been bothering me for the entire day but I had steadily ignored them for the most part. However, as I was leaving my last period class with Mori and Hani in tow, they had ambushed me. I didn't see any reason to call for Mori's assistance since they were just staring at me.

"Bera-Chan, Fumiko-Hime tells us that you're a musical and arts prodigy," Tamaki began with excitement. I stared at him blankly and palmed his face. Ignoring his whining, I shoved him away with a huff. "Something like that," I replied with my semi-permanently blank face.

"And you two? What do you want?" I turned on the twins with a set frown. "Aren't you all going to be late for your club?" I reminded them with my arms folded across my chest. Idiotic girls were beginning to take notice of them and began swooning and cooing. As if I didn't get enough of that with being around Hani and Mori as it is…

"The club is canceled for today!" the one of the left exclaimed with a grin. "And Boss here decided to take a field trip to Haruhi's home," the one on the right continued. "What's this got to do with me?" I rolled my eyes and began tapping my foot against the floor.

"You didn't ask her Hani-Senpai?" Tamaki swiveled around to look down at the oldest member of the Host Club. Hani smiled bashfully and hugged Usa-Chan close to his chest. "Usa-Chan forgot to remind me," He replied with a blush. I placed my hand on my hip and tilted my head to the side.

"Whatever it is, the answer is no," I flipped my hair behind my shoulder and began to walk away from the gathered group of boys. "But Bera-Chan!" Tamaki shouted after me. I planned on ignoring him but he got my attention when he suddenly flew at my back, knocking me to the ground and wrapping his arms around my waist.

"Oh my God! Tamaki, get off!" I squeaked, trying to crawl from under him. "Not until my darling niece agrees to accompany her family!" He shouted in protest, waving his head back and forth in my back. "This is ridiculous! Get off!" I snapped at him with a red face.

Students stared at the two of us as we made a spectacle of ourselves. Kaoru and Hikaru were busy cheering on Tamaki, Hani remained practically oblivious and Mori seemed unaffected by the sheer stupidity of his friends.

"Get off!"

"Say yes, Bera!"

"No!"

"Then I shall remain!"

We continued on like this for a few more minutes until Kyoya and Haruhi showed up. "…What's going on…?" Haruhi trailed off uneasily, staring down at the two of us. "Boss is trying to convince Bera to come with us to your home," one of the twins sidled up next to the Haruhi, the other following his lead.

"You guys were serious about that?" Haruhi asked in dismay, temporarily ignoring me. "Of course, that's why Tamaki canceled the Club today," Kyoya said in slight irritation. I think it was bugging him that the Host Club was losing an entire day of taking stupid rich girls' money.

Haruhi sighed heavily and then groaned. Realizing that she was going to be of no help at the moment and Kyoya was never any help to anyone, I turned to my last line of humanity. I stopped kicking my feet and stopped waving my arms. Tilting my head back, I let out a whine that sounded like it came from a child.

"Moriiiii, help me!"

And just like I knew he would, Mori slipped his hands under my arms and jerked me from under Tamaki. I grinned in triumph as Tamaki's face smacked into the floor and Mori set me gently on my feet. I patted my dress down and then turned to Mori with my grin in place. "Thank you Mori, you're a life-saver," I hummed sweetly. He regarded me for a moment before the corner of his lips twitched up and he nodded his head.

"Believe me, Haruhi, I would _love_ to surround myself with those three idiots and go with you all to your house but I simply must decline! And I mean it this time, don't tell Mori to carry me out of here!" I gave Hikaru, Kaoru and Tamaki the stink eye. "We would never do that…"

"Why can't you come, Berry-Chan?" Hani asked, cutely tilting his head to the side. I knew what he was trying to do. He was trying to bribe me with those sugary sweet eyes. Well, it won't work on me! Nope!

"Oba-Sama has been adamant on me coming home after school. Family affairs," I explained vaguely. I had a feeling that if the Host Club knew of my crazy Uncle and his crazy schemes, they would most likely get themselves involved. And that is something I don't need.

Hani pouted but nodded his head. "We understand, Berry-Chan. Maybe Oba-Chan will let you come with us a different day?" He prompted hopefully. Not wanting to crush that sweet little face of his, I smiled sweetly and nodded. "Of course she will," I patted him on the head and stood up.

"I'm going now. Try not to bother Haruhi too much, hm?" I fixed a glare on the three idiots that would bother her the most before waving to the rest of them and leaving. I met up with Fumiko outside and she seemed quite annoyed.

"You're late," She whined as she and I walked towards our waiting car. "I was held up," I replied, hoping she wouldn't ask by what. "What held you up?" She asked, her big eyes boring into mine. I sighed heavily and climbed into the car first. "….The Host Club…"

"You were with the Host Club!?"

"Fumiko…"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Fumiko…."

"Are they still at school?!"

"Fu-Fu…"

"We must go back!"

Surrounded by idiots.

* * *

"You have a letter, Izabera-San."

I frowned in confusion and glanced up at one of the many maids that were hired. "A letter? From who?" I asked while getting up. "There is no return address," She answered robotically before turning and leaving. "The maids back home were much friendlier…" I mumbled to myself, sitting on my bed and ripping the letter open.

My blood ran cold as I stared at the simple sentence in bold ink. **"Go home, Grease-Ball." **I ran that one sentence over and over in my head and instantly felt sick to my stomach. I already knew Takuma was responsible for this. Grease-Ball, an Italian slur.

Instead of allowing fear to take over, annoyance seeped out. Honestly, who did he think he was fooling? It seemed like he pulled this out a poorly portrayal of an Italian mafia movie. I took offense that it was cheesy more than the actual insult.

"Izzy!"

I jumped, shoving the slip of paper under my pillow as Fumiko burst into the room. She frowned instantly, her eyes squinting at me. "Are you okay? What was that you were just looking at?" She came closer, her eyes switching to my pillow.

"Ah, nothing. Just a piece of notes I forgot about," I waved her concern off. "Anyway, what's with bursting in here like that? So rude," I chided her, wiggling my finger in her face. Fumiko eyed my pillow a minute longer before rolling her eyes. "You have a phone call," She pouted, folding her arms across her chest. "Who is it?" I asked, slowly standing up. I swear, if it's cheesy threat from a mysterious but frightening man, I'm going to flip out.

"I don't know," She shrugged and I noticed a slight smile forming at her lips. Quirking my eyebrow at her, I shook my head and slowly left the room. I picked up the phone that was stationed in the hallway and counted slowly.

"_Pronto?" _

I waited a couple of minutes before I heard a shuffle over the line. _"Izzy?" _I heard the familiar sound of my brother, Raph. As soon as I heard his voice, I was thrown into memories of spending time with him. Ralph was the youngest brother of my three older brothers so he was often stuck with me.

"_Finally got a hold of you, busy-bee," _He laughed into the phone. Even without him laughing, I could tell he was grinning widely. He knew I hated that name, only my Mother was allowed to call me that without being scolded by me.

"Don't call me that, Raphael!" I chided into the phone, frowning. He simply continued laughing. "So, what's up? How is Papa doing? I spoke to Mama recently, she's doing fine still. And what about Maria?" I asked, leaning my hip into the wall.

"_Papa is fine, of course. He misses you a lot. Mama is still doing fine. As for my Mother…"_ He trailed off, not very fond of Maria. "Same old Maria?" I asked with raised eyebrows. "Pretty much…"

We spoke for a period of ten minutes before Raph had to end the call. I was disappointed because I realized how much I missed Raph, Eddy, and Lorenzo. I think I can pin the blame mostly on them for my somber, blank and slightly boyish attitude. I mean, after eighteen years of growing up around three rowdy boys, they tend to rub off on you.

We exchanged goodbyes and I love yous before the call ended. I quietly set the phone down in its cradle and turned around. I turned around only to bump into Fumiko, who looked like she was thinking hard.

"Fumiko?"

She glanced at me and then smiled softly. "Do you like it here?" She suddenly asked, catching me off guard. "What?" I asked, face contorted into confusion. "Do you like it here? Do you want to go back to Italy?"

"Of course I want to go back to Italy," I sighed heavily, folding my arms across my chest.

I missed Italy, my home. My rowdy older brothers, my freakishly protective Father and my kind-hearted but fierce Mother. I missed all of that, I missed my friends. I missed my life.

"But I like it here, too."

* * *

"Izzy-Senpai? Is everything alright?"

I blinked long and hard down at Haruhi, frowning. It was lunch time and both Haruhi and I had somehow managed to evade the host club in order to hide out and study. I had to wonder how long it would take the group of idiotic boys to realize their only female Host and I were missing from lunch.

She and I settled on the lip of the large ornate fountain outside of school. "Everything is fine, just thinking about my Uncle," I shrugged blandly. "Oh. Do you miss him?" She asked with her large eyes. Sometimes I wonder how I really didn't realize she was a girl from the start.

"Miss him?" I snorted in a manner that wasn't ladylike. "That'll be the day. Ha! Me? Actually missing Takuma?" I shook my head and folded my arms across my chest. Haruhi regarded me in confusion. "My Uncle and I don't get along," I told her. "But let's not dwell on my family members. How was your afternoon yesterday with the Host Club at your house? Chaotic, I assume," I smiled and opened my notebook, leafing through the pages to find where I had been last.

"Of course, rich bastards," She huffed, looking through her bag for her books. "They really like being around you," I chuckled, leaning back a little. "They like being around you too, you know," Haruhi pointed out absently. "You don't say…"

"Mm, Tamaki and the twins kept trying to make plans to kidnap you yesterday," She began to explain, noticing my face paling. "But Mori and I convinced them to leave you alone," She chuckled at my expression. "Not sure if we'll ever be able to accomplish that again though."

"I am eternally grateful."

A good twenty minutes ticked by of just studying peacefully. For once, I was at ease and I could tell Haruhi was as well. But of course, all good things must come to an end. Unfortunately, they sometimes come too quickly.

"There you two are!"

I screamed bloody murder, not expecting Tamaki to pop out of God knows where in our faces. Without any proper support to hold me up, I reeled backwards and fell into the fountain.

Seconds clocked by awkwardly before I exploded.

_"YOU DAMN IDIOT!" _

I sat in the in the fountain, the water soaking into my bright yellow dress and dulling it into a mustard yellow. My hair had fallen out of its bun and swayed down my back, the tips of it dipped into the water. My legs dangled over the ledge, the only part of my body that hadn't been soaked with water.

Tamaki was a stuttering mess and I fumed at him, my face burning a bright scarlet red. Kaoru and Hikaru found this absolutely funny and howled with laughter. I felt like slaughtering all three of them, I certainly could find the means. I am Italian, after all. That was a joke. Sorta.

"Mori-Senpai, would you please assist in getting Bera-Senpai out of the fountain?" Kyoya requested coolly, not even batting an eyelid at my distress. How the world was I supposed to finish classes with a soaked and soggy dress?

"You guys! This isn't funny!" Haruhi scolded the twins, standing up to glare at them. "And what's the matter with you? Don't you know not to scream in people's faces when they're distracted?" She turned on Tamaki, forcing him into a corner of sorrow and despair. That's right, Haruhi, you tell him!

My train of thought was interrupted when a large tan hand was shoved in my face. Blinking in confusion, I looked up to see Mori patiently waiting for me to take his hand. "You're going to catch a cold if you remain in there any longer," He told me. Sighing heavily, I took his hand. Despite me getting his hand and the cuff of his jacket wet, he pulled me up to my feet. With his assistance so I wouldn't fall flat on my face and risk further embarrassment, he helped me over the ledge of the fountain and onto dry land.

Again, I thanked him. Jeez, how many times was I going to thank Mori during the school year? I had a feeling this wouldn't be the last time he was helping me out of some stupid mess caused by Tamaki. "Well, what am I supposed to do now?" I snapped at Tamaki, grabbing the front of his jacket and dragging his face close to mine. "My uniform is completely soaked, Tamaki. I look like a drowned rat!" I hissed in his face, not bothering to care that he was comically crying.

"You must get out of that if you don't want to catch a cold," Kyoya pointed out, pointing at my soaked dress with the tip of his pen. "And just what am I supposed to change in?" I huffed at him, not caring that he shot me a dark look for raising my voice.

"We can help!"

Kaoru and Hikaru suddenly wedged themselves in between Tamaki and me. Tamaki took his chance to hide behind Mori. "Yeah, you two are actually going to help?" I huffed, folded my arms across my chest. "It's either that or you go home early for the day," Kyoya added in. Going home early meant missing my remaining classes, which wasn't really good. I couldn't afford to miss any of my classes, especially History class.

I groaned loudly and slapped my hand to cover my face. Sliding my hand up my face, I pulled my fingers through my hair. I really hope I wouldn't end up regretting this. But this was Hikaru and Kaoru….

"Fine."

* * *

"No! No! There's no way I'm wearing this!"

After taking a shower and wearing a robe around six boys, I was eager to get dressed in whatever the twins had been working on for the last ten minutes. And now, I was in the bathroom with the 'uniform' they had shoved at me.

"You couldn't have given me another dress to wear?" I hissed through the door. "We tried that but they're all out of your sizes, my niece!" Tamaki spoke loudly. "This is your entire fault, Tamaki!" I snapped at him in anger. "Izzy-Senpai, it can't be that bad. It is the uniform, isn't it?" Haruhi sighed heavily. "And we've only got fifteen minutes of lunch left," She added as an afterthought. "But Haruhi….I look ridiculous," I whined, placing my forehead against the door.

"I'm sure it's not that bad…"

Sighing heavily, I grabbed the doorknob and yanked the door open. Storming out of the bathroom, I stood in the middle of the room with my hands on my hips. My hair was dry and insanely curly since I couldn't straighten it and I was dressed in a uniform.

A boy's uniform.

Sorta. I was wearing the white long sleeved-short with the light blue jacket over it, the crest on the breast pocket. Instead of the black slacks that I would've been fine with, the twins had given me a black skirt. Idly, I played with the tie as the club stared at me. "This is not what I was expecting when you guys said you would help. There is no way I can wear this to the rest of my classes," I huffed, hands on my hips.

"I think you look lovely, my darling niece," Tamaki exclaimed, waving his arms in the air like noodles. I fixed a glare on him and snorted. "Shut up, Tamaki! You're grounded until the Host Club, no talking!" I snapped at him, pointing a finger at him.

"Mama! Our niece has grounded me…."

"How is it that I've come to have a daughter, two sons and a niece…."

"Tamaki, I said no talking!"

Kaoru slid up next to me, leaning in towards me. "What's the problem?" He asked with a frown. Hikaru followed suit, frowning just like his brother. "We think it looks nice," He folded his arms across his chest. "Oh c'mon, Bera, you're from Italy. You know it looks nice," Kaoru rolled his eyes. "What does being from Italy have to do with anything…?"

"Rome, Milan, Venice and Florence are fashion capitals. Aren't you from Venice?" Hikaru asked, bumping his hip into mine. "Just because I'm from a fashion-forward city does not mean I should be forced to wear this. Isn't this against uniform regulations or something?" I turned hopefully towards Kyoya.

"Chairman Suoh okayed it," Kyoya replied smoothly. I turned on Tamaki, shooting him a look. Before I could start accusing him of convincing Chairman Suoh to okay such a thing, I noticed that his face was turning a different color from the lack of oxygen.

"Tamaki, breath through your nose!" I yelled, realizing that he was holding his breath so he wouldn't talk. Hearing my instruction, he sucked in air through his nostrils and then fell to the floor, his skin complexion slowly fading back to normal.

"Oh my God, he's literally an idiot…" I muttered to myself, face-palming. Watching blankly, Tamaki sucked in mouthfuls of air. "Usa-Chan thinks it looks nice on Berry-Chan," Hani gurgled from below me. I looked down at him and cringed out a smile.

"Give me some stockings so I can just get this over with…"

* * *

Students, of course, stared at me. My face was scarlet red by the time I reached the last period of the day. I hurried to my seat and nearly slammed my head into my desk. I knew everyone was going to stare at me. I was going to kill these people for staring, kill the twins for making such an outfit and then kill Tamaki for scaring me into the fountain. Just as I was finger-combing my dried and insanely curled_ (and knotted)_ hair, a classmate approached my desk.

"What a surprise…."

I looked up and almost groaned in the person's face. Standing above me was Inou-San. I nearly forgot that she shared this class with me. Since I sat with Hani and Mori, most girls didn't approach me because they were too busy cooing and squealing like hyenas over them.

"Can I help you, Inou-San?" I asked blandly, holding my chin in the palm of my heel. She folded her arms across her face and sighed heavily. "I'm not surprised you're dressed like that," She commented in a high and mighty tone.

"What are you trying to suggest?"

Inou smirked at me and shook her head. "Oh please, you know what I'm talking about. I guess it is true what they say about Italian girls," She hummed with a sickeningly sweet smile. I could feel my calm mask slowly start to chip away.

Back home, I had never gotten into a fight. That didn't mean I didn't know how to put up a good fight, I had three freakishly overprotective brothers. I knew how to throw a decent punch. But back home, I left all the fighting to my best friend, Carmen.

Carmen was one of those girls who got in your face as soon as you said anything she didn't like. Even when I told her to just leave something alone, she'd ignore me and going charging in for a fight. She had been the main reason I never got into a fight.

But that didn't mean I didn't have my limits when someone is constantly irritating me. I'm not a fighter but don't push me. They say a calm person is a terrible person to have as an enemy. Use Kyoya for an example, no one wanted to be on his bad side.

"Inou-San, you have five seconds to go back to your desk and leave me be," I told her, my tolerance slowly depleting. "If you are that interested in this outfit, you can ask Hikaru and Kaoru about it. But I'm pretty sure you're too much an idiot to form a complete sentence in their presence."

Inou seemed surprised by my words because her eyes were the size of golf balls. Before she could toss back a snarky reply, Mori and Hani approached the two of us. "Hi, Inou-Chan!" Hani exclaimed loudly, distracting the both of us.

"Oh, hi Hani-Chan," She turned to direct a smile at him and then directed a timid smile at Mori. "Hi, Mori-San," She greeted, her cheeks becoming a rosy color. I raised my eyebrows and then nodded to myself. Now I understood her animosity towards me.

"Hi, Berry-Chan!" Hani waved excitedly in my face. "Hi there, Hani-Chan," I smiled down at her. "Good afternoon, Mori," I titled my head up to look at the much taller male. "Good afternoon," He nodded down at me. My smile was almost cracking my face as I stared at Inou, childishly gloating through my eyes.

"What are you doing over here with Berry-Chan, Inou-Chan?"

"Oh….I was just…"

"Leaving. She was just leaving."

Inou turned to stare me down, her eyebrows slightly narrowed. "Isn't that right, Inou-San?" I asked smoothly, smirking at her. She seemed a little dumbfounded before shooting a look at me. "Right…class is about to start…" She muttered before turning and hurrying away from the three of us.

"Inou-Chan sure is weird sometimes."

* * *

I sighed heavily as Kaoru and Hikaru took turns with brushing my knotted hair. The Host Club had just closed for the afternoon and the hosts were slowly getting ready to part ways. Surprisingly, Fumiko had gone home without me. Something had been bothering her for awhile but she wouldn't spit it out.

So, now I sat on the couch with Hikaru and Kaoru behind me. Everything was mostly calm and quiet as the hosts got ready to leave soon. Of course, things had to come to an end, but don't they always?

"Hey, Bera…." Kaoru leaned over, sticking his face close to mine. "Yes?" I sighed through my mouth, slowly becoming used to my personal space being invaded by them. Kaoru glanced up at his brother before looking back at me.

"Do you get along with your entire family?"

I paused and then glanced at him, my eyebrows drawn together. What did my family have to do with anything? Why would he ask such a question? He was such a strange boy. "Why do you ask…?"

"Fumiko-Chan was complaining about a mean Uncle of yours or something along those lines," Hikaru paused in brushing my hair as my shoulders tensed. I was going to kill Fumiko for even mentioning Takuma to Hikaru and Kaoru. I was going to tell Kya not say anything about Takuma to Fumiko in the first place.

"Of course I get along with them," I forced a smile across my face. Hikaru and Kaoru shared a confused expression. "Then why was she complaining about him?" Hikaru continued to stroke the brush through my hair. "I don't know, I guess he must have annoyed her recently," I shrugged blandly. Suddenly, I stood up, almost jerking Hikaru over the couch. "I should go home now. Hopefully my uniform was taken care of so I don't have to wear this," I sighed, motioning to the outfit I still had on.

I ignored the twin's complaints and patted Hani goodbye. Bidding the rest of them goodbye, I hurried out of music room three. I ran my fingers through my knot-free hair and let out a huge sigh while I slid into the backseat of the waiting car.

I needed to speak with my loudmouth cousin.

* * *

"I can't get over how lovely that uniform looks. I wish that was our official uniform," Fumiko sighed as I stepped into the living room. Kya looked up and raised her eyebrows in question. "The skirt is a bit short, don't you think?" She asked with a frown.

"Fumiko," I hurried over to her and stood with my hands on my hips. "What's the matter, Busy-Bee?" She asked her eyes wide and dark. "Don't act innocent," I huffed and shook my head. "You told Hikaru and Kaoru about Takuma!" I accused, pointing an offending finger at her.

Fumiko paled and folded her arms nervously. "I didn't tell them about him…" She huffed, looking away. "But you mentioned him, Fu; they asked me if I got along with everyone in the family. I can't let the Host Club know about how much Takuma hates me. They'll blow it out of proportion," I explained to her.

Kya turned to look at Fumiko, her mouth set in a firm line. "I don't think it's wise to tell people our family's business," She chided Fumiko calmly. "But the Host Club is always helping people in need, Izzy! They'll help you if Takuma tries anything," Fumiko argued with me.

"He won't try anything."

"How do you know?"

"Fumiko, where is all this coming from?" Kya tilted her head to the side. Fumiko didn't often bother with the things like this in our family. She preferred to live ignorantly in bliss. I didn't blame her though; she was the youngest and wasn't expected to run the company ever. She was fine with that and decided to live her life the way she wanted to.

Fumiko bit her bottom lip and played with the hem of her shirt. "I just don't want Takuma to hurt Izzy. I don't want him to push her into going back to Italy. I like her here with us," She explained, pulling at the hem. "How do you know he wants me to go back home?" I asked her slowly, remembering some days ago when I got that letter from Takuma. I had hidden it under my pillow but it's no longer stashed there.

She shrugged. "He doesn't like you so why wouldn't he want you to go back home?" She countered with a frown. "Where's that note, Fu?" I asked her slowly, my eyes narrowing. Kya looked in between us. "I don't know what note you're talking about…" Fumiko replied slowly.

"What note?"

"Fumiko…"

"I don't know what note you're talking about."

Fumiko suddenly stood up, frowning sadly. "I'm not going to let him bully you into leaving, Izzy. I'll protect you, okay? So just stay here and don't leave…" She trailed off before whipping around and hurrying out of the living room. I cursed in Italian and plopped down next to Kya. "What note is she talking about, Isabella?" She asked me but I had tuned her out. _"Isabella Ai Giovanni!"_ Kya snapped at me, jostling me out of my haze. "Explain to me what that note is…"

"It's nothing. Takuma sent a letter telling me to go back home," I shrugged, leaning into the plush couch. Kya's face was tight as she thought something over. "I'm calling Takuma…" She mumbled, getting up and storming away before I could stop her.

This is what I had been trying to avoid. Now everything has been thrown out of whack thanks to Fu and her giant mouth. I had a feeling she had taken that note when I was on the phone with Raph. She had been staring at my pillow the entire she was in my room with me.

Takuma was ruining everything.

* * *

"What in the world are you all doing?"

I paused, witnessing the entire Host Club surrounding a table Tamaki usually occupied with a couple females along with them. "My dear niece!" Tamaki exclaimed loudly, running over to me and grabbing me by my wrist. With comical strength, he dragged me over to where everyone was currently congested and forced me into a seat next to Haruhi. She looked annoyed but remained quiet as I snatched my wrist away from Tamaki.

"Haruhi has brought us some commoner's coffee!" Tamaki shouted, bouncing in excitement. "Commoners coffee…?" I trailed off in confusion. "Aren't you all a bit too young for coffee…?" I titled my head in confusion. "And don't call it that, it's rude," I chided him, wagging my finger in his face.

"Why do you have coffee, Haruhi?" I asked, turning away from him. She frowned thoughtfully and then shrugged, causing the girls around us to coo and giggle. "It's good for when I need to study," She answered as the girls cooed about how adorable 'he' was.

Idiots.

I glanced around Haruhi and noticed Inou happened to be there as well. I stared blankly at her and stood up. "Hani-Chan, what kind of cake do you have today?" I suddenly asked, looking down at the little blond. His eyes brightened up considerably at the mention of cake.

"What type of cake do we have today, Takashi?" He asked, hopping off of the couch and waddling over to his hosting table. I smiled because I could feel the heat of Inou's glare boring holes through my back as I followed after Hani and Mori.

"Black forest cake."

"Ah, never had that before. It sounds nasty though, don't you think?" I made idle chitchat while Hani scrambled into his seat. I sat next to him and Mori sat on my other side. "Will you try it today?" Mori asked me calmly, leaning forward to slice the black forest cake.

I frowned thoughtfully and leaned forward to stare at the cake. I waved Mori's hand away when he reached for the tea kettle. I picked it up and stood up, pouring the other girls tea. "I'll try it if you try it," I challenged him with a grin, finishing up with serving with the tea.

"Ah," He replied, which made me look at him blankly. "That's not a proper answer, you know," I huffed, sitting back down and eyeing him. I heard Hani giggle along with the girls. "Berry-Chan is almost like a hostess, ne?" He asked the other girls; I swear flowers were dancing around his face.

"A hostess? Me? You flatter me, Hani-Chan," I shook my head and waved my hand. There was no way I could host a bunch of idiots like Haruhi did. These girls were just too stupid and I had little patients for idiots. My polite nature was just a front; underneath it all I was an unfeeling girl. Just ask Tamaki.

"I think Hani-Chan is right, you're really charismatic," the short-haired brunette cooed from behind her hands. I think her name was Junko. I'm guessing, don't hold me to it. "You're embarrassing me, Junko-Chan…" I trailed off, slighting blushing. "Junko is right," the honey-blond shyly agreed. Her name was Aimi, I definitely remembered her name. Junko constantly chided Aimi for being very shy in front of Mori and Hani.

"Don't you think so too, Hisa-Chan?" Aimi turned to Inou and I resisted the urge to snort in dry humor. Her name was Hisa? That was a pretty name for a pretty mean girl. I watched as Inou's face twitched as she struggled not to say something rude to me.

"Well, don't be shy," I hummed sweetly, leaning forward. My eyes glinted mischievously as she stared back at me. She had this certain look in her eyes that Aimi and Junko were too naïve to notice. "We've spoken before, Inou-San. We're not strangers, are we?"

"Of course not, Giovanni-San…"

"Bera is fine."

Inou's lips pulled into a tight line. Smug, I sat up straight and placed my hands in my lap, neatly folded. "Well, Hisa-Chan? Don't you think Bera-Senpai would be a perfect hostess?" Junko pressed on, too thick-headed to notice the obvious tension between Inou and me. I'm pretty sure Mori and Hani noticed because they kept glancing in between the two of us.

"Of course I do," Inou forced a tight smile. It caused me to bask in my smugness. Inou had no idea who she was dealing with in our little competition. I'm not exactly sure what we were competing for though but I wouldn't back down from a challenge. I knew that she was jealous of the time I spent with Hani and Mori, but most of the third-year girls were.

I still didn't understand why they were jealous. It's not like I habitually sought the two out even though I did _(admittedly)_ enjoy their company. But either way, I couldn't fathom why these girls disliked me so much when Mori and Hani looked for me. It wasn't my fault they were too scared to do anything except stalk them and shyly fidget in front of them at hosting hours.

The afternoon continued on with Mori and Hani hosting to their best abilities and I chimed in every so often. For some reason, I really did feel like I was hosting the other girls rather than being hosted, which felt strange to me.

But…it was fun. Don't tell Tamaki I said that, though.

* * *

"Bera, where's Fumiko-Chan?" Tamaki asked me quite calmly. Hosting hours were over and I sat out of the way of everyone who was cleaning the room up. Mentioning my absent cousin, I sighed heavily and brushed my hand through my straightened hair.

"She's been feeling a little under the weather lately so she's been going straight home," I lied easily. Ever since our little 'disagreement', it's been a little strange between my cousin and I. She probably thought I was angry with her because she had been snooping through my things, took that note Takuma sent me, and babbled some of our family's dirty laundry to the host club.

I wasn't angry with Fumiko, how could I be? Although I was a little annoyed with her, she was just trying to look out for me. I just would have preferred it that she didn't try to involve the host club.

While I was beginning to warm up to them, I had to remind myself. This wasn't permanent. I was going back to Italy once I graduated from Ouran. I know Fumiko and Aunty _(and probably the Hosts)_ would want me to stay, but I just couldn't. I didn't grow up in Japan. I grew up in Italy. With my family.

I knew Takuma would rejoice once I did go back. Back home, I was not the main heiress. Lorenzo was the oldest out of the four of us, so it's only right that he takes Papa's position at the head of the family business. However, if I planned to stay in Japan, I would be the number one contender for our Japanese business since I was older than Fumiko and Katsu.

I had no intentions of running the car business. They made lovely cars, don't get me wrong. I just wasn't interested in running the business. I liked cars and everything _(tomboy, remember?)_ but I didn't want anything to do with this side of the family except for Kya and Fu.

Could you blame me? My Japanese side was harder to deal with. Besides Kya and Fu, I preferred my Mother's parents and they were long gone. Besides them, the rest of my family was crazy on this side. Everyone on the Italian side…well, they were better than my Mom's side. Sure, my Papa's ex-wife _(the boys' Mother)_ was a little insane and hard to put up with…but I'd rather deal with Maria over dealing with Takuma.

I hope they didn't expect me to stay in Japan….

"Bera?" Tamaki shoved his face in mine. I sighed heavily and palmed his face, shoving him away. "Tamaki, do you remember our little chat about personal space?" I asked him with blank eyes. I watched as he slowly nodded. "Right, now let's stop invading Bera-Nee's space, okay?" I slipped my hand up and patted him on the head like a good little boy.

"Sometimes I forget Bera is older than us," Hikaru _(or…at least I think it was him)_ plopped down next to us. "You constantly forget because you bully me like I'm Haruhi, no offense…." I smiled at Haruhi. The only other female in the room shrugged blandly. "They do tend to bully me….rich bastards…."

"She's like an older sister or something," Hikaru grinned widely as Kaoru slid up to lean over the back of the couch we were occupying. "You think so? I wouldn't know what being a big sister is like. All of my siblings are older than me," I replied to Hikaru's statement.

"Just like Kyo-Chan!" Hani exclaimed, pointing over to the shadow king. "Oh? Is that so, Kyoya? I suppose we might actually have something in common," I grinned at him. "It would seem so, Izabera-Senpai," Kyoya replied, looking up from his laptop to flash his famous fake smile.

"That's Bera's type!" Kaoru suddenly snapped his fingers next to my ear. "What's my type?" I asked, slowly scooting away from him. "Bera is the big sister type," He grinned widely, pointing to the side of my head. I frowned and tilted my head to the side.

"I'm not apart of the Host Club, why do I need a type?"

"Well," Hikaru scooted closer to me, drawing his arm around my shoulder. Kaoru appeared on my other side, wrapping an arm around my waist. Oh, great. I'm pretty much trapped by these devils. What were they up to now?

"There has been some requests for you to host some of the females," Kaoru smirked at me smugly, watching my eyebrows shoot up my forehead. I suddenly stood up, breaking out of their head. Still frowning, I pinched the fabric of my dress and held it up and then I looked at my chest, pouting.

"They do know I'm a girl, don't they?"

Tamaki, Hikaru and Kaoru broke down in fits of laughter. Haruhi giggled softly and Mori chuckled quietly. Hani smiled cutely and Kyoya coughed into his hand. "What? What's so funny? Why would I need a type? I'm a girl, they know that, right?" I pouted even more.

I wasn't exactly caught off guard when Tamaki suddenly jumped at me, locking me in a hug that forced my face into his chest. "My dear niece is so adorable when her confidence is low!" He shouted loudly, hefting me off my feet to spin me around in fast circles. If I puked_ (although it wasn't ladylike)_ on his chest, it was his fault.

"I do not have low self-confidence and would let go of me?! I can't _breathe_!"

When had I become used to this sort of life?


End file.
